When An Idea Overshadows Its Execution

100 Feet (2009)

Directed By: Eric Red

Starring:
Famke Janssen as Marnie
Bobby Cannavale as Shanks
Ed Westwick as Joey

Eric Red’s 100 Feet has been making its rounds since mid-2008 and finally found an American release via the Sci-Fi Channel. For those who are “in the know,” any film that ends up on that much-maligned network has an automatic death sentence. Several months after its edited-for-content version was first unleashed, it has finally found an uncut domestic release on DVD. The good news is that it never belonged on the Sci-Fi Channel alongside such films as Frankenfish and Beyond Loch Ness (two films that I am proud to say I have never seen). Even better news is that it is, no doubt, substantially better than just about every other film ever to have its debut on there. The bad news is that, while it is a good film, it is also deeply flawed. An intriguing and occasionally powerful concept is mired in the woes of its obviously low-budget and shoddy technique. This is a prime example of a film that is all idea with very little skilled execution.

The basic story is one that will seem fascinating on the back of a DVD case and, truth be told, it is just as fascinating as it sounds. Marnie (Famke Janssen) has just been released from prison and assigned one year of house arrest for murdering her sadistically abusive husband (Michael Paré), a New York City police officer, in self defense. Now, confined to a one-hundred foot radius in her home (the scene of the crime), she finds herself plagued by the violent ghost of her dead husband, a spirit that desperately wants revenge. She cannot leave because, if she does, she will automatically receive an extra ten years in prison…but, if she does not find a way to escape her husband’s wrath, she could very well end up dead. As you can see, poor Marnie has found herself in quite a predicament, a fact that the film does not gloss over. It is surprisingly effective in translating the desperation of the situation, a feeling that results in cracks in Marnie’s sanity becoming visible.

Unlike Marnie’s reactions to the situation, however, the film buckles in its depiction of the situation, itself. The ghost is hokey looking and, therefore, just not frightening. He appears as a hovering blur with the only comprehensible physical attributes being a suit-and-tie and a bloody face. I did not understand the blur, and I did not understand the suit. Why use badly-produced CGI and why use a suit on a man who was primarily characterized as being an abusive police officer? Where was the police uniform!? Writer and director Eric Red is no stranger to low-budget horror and, therefore, should have realized that, unless you can effectively stretch the money you do have, then you should not stretch it at all. Had he used subtlety rather than excessiveness, the film would have been more visually-appealing and far scarier. As it is, I appreciated the concepts behind all of the frightening scenes, but found most of their executions to be, at times, silly. Those movie-goers who are not as enthusiastically supportive of the horror genre as I am will be even more offended by the film’s lack of technical finesse.

Therefore, 100 Feet is not likely to warm the hearts of non-genre fans, but it will be undeniably appealing to those who recognize the name Eric Red and who enjoy a solid ghost story. Because they are accustomed to it, they will probably embrace the film’s hackneyed special effects, appreciating instead the compelling plot behind them. It is boosted by a strong performance from Famke Janssen who fills up just about every second of the film’s runtime with an authentic and vulnerable performance. The success or failure of the film rests firmly on her shoulders, and I found myself siding with it, despite its problems, because I was so invested in her performance. After she handles the obligatory it’s-just-a-cat jump scene with a shocking level of dignity, it becomes clear that she is unafraid to take horror seriously and be slightly unconventional. 100 Feet is a good film that features a great initial story. Had it been made with a larger budget or had Eric Red been more effective in his use of the budget that he did have, it could have been great.