A delicious little homespun thriller that hearkens back to the isolated-cottage stage thrillers of the 1930s and 40s (it is set in 1932). The fact that it is set in an old house in New Zealand helps immeasurably--the opening shots make the house seem like the only one in the entire country. All the elements are familiar (escaped killer, locked windows, strange noises), but the director juggles them in unexpected ways.
The commentary on the DVD is highly enjoyable--Alex Galvin, the director, tells of how the house was pieced together out of eleven separate locations (including his own garage) and several of them were historically-preserved houses from the era. The traffic at those locations made the audio track unusable, and the film had to be re-synched from top to bottom (Tania Nolan, the leading lady, supplied the footstep noises for everyone). The limited amount of shooting time meant the lead actresses had to rehearse all their scenes, including fight choreography, for two weeks beforehand (as if it were a play) and then deliver in a few hours while lighting conditions were favorable. Perhaps most amusingly, modern telephones and signs had to be digitally erased, frame by frame (most painstakingly in a scene where Tania Nolan walks slowly down a hall with knife upraised, and there was a telephone behind her head which was wiped out, pixel by pixel, in each shot.)
The commentary on the DVD is highly enjoyable--Alex Galvin, the director, tells of how the house was pieced together out of eleven separate locations (including his own garage) and several of them were historically-preserved houses from the era. The traffic at those locations made the audio track unusable, and the film had to be re-synched from top to bottom (Tania Nolan, the leading lady, supplied the footstep noises for everyone). The limited amount of shooting time meant the lead actresses had to rehearse all their scenes, including fight choreography, for two weeks beforehand (as if it were a play) and then deliver in a few hours while lighting conditions were favorable. Perhaps most amusingly, modern telephones and signs had to be digitally erased, frame by frame (most painstakingly in a scene where Tania Nolan walks slowly down a hall with knife upraised, and there was a telephone behind her head which was wiped out, pixel by pixel, in each shot.)
