Search - Right at Your Door on DVD

Keith A. (Keefer522)
Reviewed on 5/24/2013...

Tight little indie thriller in which a husband and wife are separated during a "dirty bomb" attack on Los Angeles ... he's stuck at home, whilst she's downtown where the sh*t is going down. The authorities advise residents to seal off their homes, so when the wife makes it back, does Hubby let her back in and risk contamination, or leave her outside to face an uncertain fate?

...chilling concept, well acted, decently executed. Bound to spark conversation if you watch it with your significant other...

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Deidra C. (Deidra670) from GARRETT, KY
Reviewed on 11/7/2010...

I know you've heard this from me before, but, WOW!!
RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR knocked me flat on my ass and scared the crap out of me. The film played on my basic fears and the thing that hit me so hard was the simple knowledge--this could really happen. This scenario is a possibility, this is our reality right now. After 9/11, are we truly safe?

Brad and Lexie live in L.A. Brad is an unemployed musician/househusband and Lexie works for an unspecified business downtown. After he sends Lexie off to work, he hears the fateful news on the television/radio that L.A. has been hit by a series of dirty bombs, to stay in your home and do not attempt to find your loved ones. To wait for emergency workers to do their jobs.

Everything just gets worse and worse. Brad is pushed to the brink and back as he imagines his wife trapped in the midst of the chaos. I won't reveal any more of the plot, except to say that the next 75 minutes are nail biting, suspenseful and more terrifying than any slasher movie could ever hope to be. And there is a killer twist at the end that left me breathless.

Just watch RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR and try to remember, "It's just a movie. It isn't real."

Or is it? But don't worry, Emergency Services will be there to help you. Don't they always? That's what they said on the news and the news never lies.

Do they?

4 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Tyffany N. from SAN TAN VLY, AZ
Reviewed on 9/2/2010...

This is a good solid thriller and character driven drama. The conflict between the husband and wife made me wonder "what if" I were in that situation. Thought provoking and interesting.

5 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Sarah F. (Ferdy63) from DALTON, GA
Reviewed on 4/26/2009...

A truly frightening movie because it's something that could really happen. The movie starts as a wife leaves for work in LA and shortly after her husband hears that bombs have gone off in downtown LA where she works. Chaos ensues as more bombs explode and he can't get in touch with his wife. The background noise of the entire movie is the constant news reports playing on the radio of the aftermath of the explosions and the warnings to citizens. It's a hard movie to watch at times and has a killer twist at the end. The emotional scenes of the main characters talking to each other for what they believe is the last time are heart wrenching. This is an independent movie that didn't get much, if any, theater time bult it's definitely worth watching.

5 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

An effective little film about a dirty bomb attack in Los An

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 01/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We lived in Florida during the Cuban missle crisis and instead of ducking and covering under our desks we went out in the hallway and huddled against the wall during our nuclear attack drills. When I was growing up it was pretty much taken for granted that one day the Cold War was going to go nuclear. There were movies from "On the Beach" to "Fail-safe" that played out possible scenarios for the end of the world as we knew it, and even "Star Trek" assumed that World War III was going to be a nuclear war. When "The Day After" came out Carl Sagan was on the special edition of "Nightline" that followed saying that a real nuclear winter would be much worse than what we say in that made for television movie. But now we live in a world where a full out nuclear exchange between two super powers seems extremely remote if not impossible and we would like to believe that a terrorist attack involving nuclear weapons is not inevitable. We have seen such a scenario played out with super Agent Jack Bauer on "24," but that never really involves ordinary people. That is not the case with "Right at Your Door," which plays out against our worst fears at a very basic level.



Brad (Rory Cochrane) and Lexi (Mary McCormack) are living together in Los Angeles and on this fateful morning she goes off to work. The next thing Brad nows there are reports on the radio of a series of blasts in the city. It turns out that not only is this a terrorist attack, but that the bombs were dirty bombs that are filling the air with toxic clouds of deadly ash. Of course Brad tries to contact Lexi, but the phone lines are jammed and when he jumps in his car to try and go and find her, his efforts are thwarted by the police. Chances are she is already dead, but Brad simply does not know one way or the other. So he returns home and seals up his doors and windows against the toxic cloud that is coming, and waits for Lexi to call or get back home.



This turns out to be only the grim opening act of first-time writer-director Chris Gorak's film, which was screened at Sundance in 2006 and only grossed $64K when it was released for a few weeks last year. Now that it is out on DVD, word of mouth should help "Right at Your Door" get a much larger audience, because this is an engrossing little film. One aspect of the film's low budget is that instead of television coverage of what is going on, all we and the characters get are radio broadcasts. However, this ends up working in the film's favor as our imagination fills in the grim details, as do the simply sights of black clouds of smoke and the rain of ash particles. More money would not have improved the finished product and most of the story plays out in and around the home that Brad and Lexi share. There is also an echo of 9/11 in how family and friends reach out by cell phone.



The film that "Right at Your Door" reminds me most of in terms of these apocalyptic films ends up being "Testament," the harrowing story of a family trying to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear war far enough away from the destruction, but not far enough away from the fallout. "Testament" has a much longer time-frame than "Right at Your Door," but it shares the same intimate focus. Overall I liked the way things played out in the end (I certainly was not expecting that particular resolution), although the set up for the end game did strike me as a bit strange when it was happening. That was the one bit that immediately struck me as unbelievable that under those circumstances the cell phone (this reference will make sense when you see the film) would be an issue worth pursuing. I was going to round down on the film because of that flaw, but you know me. I think irony is the master trope of the universe and when you surprise me with an ironic twist at the end of the story I end up rounding up.



The DVD extras include the scripts for a pair of alternative endings for the film, and it is heartening to think that at least Gorak did not film either one of them, because I am getting tired of filmmakers getting to the ending of their flms and picking options (just take any of the classic films of your choice, imagine alternative endings, and shudder accordingly). This is an effective little film, and while I would not call it great, it certainly deserves to be seen by more people than have caught it to date. That is why I have talked in general terms about the opening act and left the other two-thirds of the movie for you to discover for yourself."

One of the best films at Sundance 2007

Lisa Hunt | Boise, Idaho | 01/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why this incredibly crafted and relavent movie was never in wide release eludes me. I attend the Sundance Film Festival every year and see many films that ultimately have become quite famous. This film deserves just as much, if not more, fame as "Little Miss Sunshine", "Hustle and Flow" among others. It still ranks as one of the most unforgettable and original movies I have ever seen. Buy it/rent it and prepare to rock your world for a few days!"

Be Prepared If This Happens

T Boz | USA | 01/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although produced on an independent budget, the filmmakers here have created a fantastic thriller. Set in Los Angeles, the film starts out as every day in our lives does, until that is, an unknown terrorist organization sets off a series of dirty bombs in the downtown area. Recalling the panic that set in on 9/11, our main characters don't know what to do, who to trust, or where to find credible information. What ensues is a truly scary proposition of what might happen, police declare marshall law, hospitals become traps for unwilling victims, and general chaos follows. The performance of Rory Cochrane is really what drives this tale, as he might finally get the recognition he deserves as a dramatic actor, after appearing in such films as Dazed & Confused, and A Scanner Darkly for the past 10 years, as well as CSI: Miami. The supporting cast is excellent as well, although it only takes a few poeple to drive this story, an element of its genius. I won't give away the ending, but it is definitely a twist you don't see coming. Some might not want to see a movie about what might possibly happen in the future, but I think that would be missing the point. We need to ask ourselves what we would do as a society, so we don't end up like the characters in the movie, if it ever does happen."