Stalker

There is a huge problem worldwide that never seems to stop, and that is people who are known as stalkers. They follow people wherever they go, and don´t care if they destroy people´s lives. The numbers of stalkers worldwide clearly shows that there are many more out there than i could ever have imagined. I actually know a very dangerous stalker, who followed a close female friend of mine many years ago. At first i didn´t know how mentally ill this man was, until he showed his true identity. He followed my female friend everywhere, outside her home, where she drived, even when she was walking outside. He even tried to confront her at some points, where she felt really scared. I will be honest and say i was very worried for her, and i used to check with her everyday for a long time if she was ok. I just didn´t want anything happen to her. It took a long time until he finally stopped following her around, and it was because she felt ready to let people know who were following her. When people found out who he was, he understood it would be harder for him to continue, since she have lots of friends around her. Even if he did stopped following her closely, she have seen him sometimes, just standing watching after her from a long distance. So we don´t really know if he ever will stop completely, but i really hope so. You never really know what a stalker is capable of, since you don´t know if they intend to hurt someone. Speaking of stalkers, there are several movies that takes on the subject of people who are stalkers. One of the films that comes to my mind is the 2002 film known as One Hour Photo. A psychological thriller from director Mark Romanek ( director of the 2010 film Never Let Me Go, who fans of Andrew Garfield most likely appreciate ). One Hour Photo tells the story of Seymour "Sy" Parrish ( brilliant played by legendary actor Robin Williams, in his best acting performance if you ask me ) who works as a photo technician at a one-hour photo in big-box store SavMart. He lives a very lonely life, so his work is basically everything he have to look forward to. His favourite customers are the Yorkin family, where especially the wife Nina Yorkin ( Connie Nielsen ) is nice to him. But Sy is becoming obsessed with this family, as he is a part of this family as well. As a psychological thriller, One Hour Photo manage to do so many things right. You have that powerful psychological tension in some of the scenes where Sy looses all control, and you also witness the downfall of someone who clearly have some big mental problems. A must see on DVD or Blu Ray if you enjoy this genre, and my absolute favourite film from Robin Williams ( yes, even better than Dead Poets Society, just my personal opinion ). Speaking of psychological thrillers, i recently sat down to watch a DVD i bought from the UK ( simply because i could not find it here in stores in Sweden ), a thriller called Stalker. I have always been a fan of psychological thrillers so i was curious to see if this film had anything to offer. Is Stalker a must see, or should you throw it down your nearest garbage can?

Actress Rose Hepburn ( Sophie Skelton ) is staying at an old 3 star hotel, something she is not looking forward to. As she arrives, no one seems to be working at the reception desk. She decides to take the elevator anyway, but before she is able to go all the way up another man makes an entrance. It turns out that his name is Daniel ( Staurt Brennan ), and he is going to a completely different floor. Suddenly the elevator is stuck, and they are both trapped. The alarm button does not seem to work, and they have no idea how they will get out. Using anything they can find to find an entrance, they have no other option but to do it themselves, in case no one is coming to help them.

It is not often you get a film with basically only 2 characters in a whole movie, and i actually appreciate when you have very few characters to get to know. Not just because it gives you a deeper portait of both characters, but it also becomes a bigger challenge for the actors to make the audience interested in the story as well. Stalker is in no way original or different from some other thrillers out there, but this film is actually quite interesting from a psychological perspective. Here we have two people stuck inside an elevator, in a hotel that does not seem to have any staff working, so how do they get out? Most importantly, why are they both there? Does both of them plan to stay at this hotel or are they here for another reason? You begin to ask yourself some questions when especially one of them seems to be carrying some secrets, and this is especially where Stalkers works pretty solid as a thriller. So let´s talk about the characters and let us begin with actress Sophie Skeleton ( who i of course have seen in the very popular TV series Outlander ) as the character Rose Hepburn, who is a hard working actress. Sophie have no problem getting into her character in a natural way, and i especially appreciate how smooth she is at delivering dialogue. I also enjoy that she plays out her mood swings, that when you think she may be in control, she can just switch off another button and show her frustration. Actor Stuart Brennan plays the shy, and odd character known as Daniel. I really like to see Stuart transformed into this mysterious personality. Daniel is clearly struggling with personal issues, and when you hear him talk you can almost feel like he have gone through a lot of suffering in his life. This is the first time i have seen Stuart Brennan act on screen and i have to say i am impressed. I wouldn´t say that it is top class acting, but it´s definetely a solid portrait of a man who feels alone and depressed. Oh i should mention that legendary wrestler Bret Hart have a very small role in this film, that was a nice surprise. Since the film is called Stalker there is a connection in this film to that title, but what it really means is something you will have to figure out yourself. I think they did a good job with the connection to the title, especially towards the end. Anything negative to say about Stalker? Honestly i feel like i don´t need to say anything negative, because even if this film have flaws i actually enjoyed this film. Director Steve Johnson have made a thriller that´s well made considering the limited budget, and i also think he tells the story in a effective way. Stalker is definetely worth picking up on DVD from the UK if you are a psychological thriller fan, just like myself. One thing is for sure, i won´t be going in any older elevators for quite some time after watching this film.

Rating: DDD