Elsewhere (2009)

Director:

Nathan Hope

Writer:

Nathan Hope (writer)

Release Date:

15 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A teen girl disappears after trying to meet men online in order to escape her small town. Apparently, only her best friend worries enough to investigate the mystery.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Cell Phone | Drugstore | Cornfield | Bus

Cast

Anna Kendrick	...	Sarah
Paul Wesley	...	Billy
Tania Raymonde	...	Jillian
Chuck Carter	...	Jasper
Olivia Dawn York	...	Darla Tod
Jeffrey Daniel Phillips	...	Officer Berg
Shannon Holt	...	Patty Melville
Kinna McInroe	...	Candy
Jon Gries	...	Mr. Tod
Dan Flannery	...	Mr. Palomino
Suzanne Lang	...	Maureen
Eddie Martinez	...	Jonas
Joshua Swanson	...	Chris
Holi Tavernier	...	Janet Melville
Pasquale Chase Rulli	...	Billy's Customer

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexual content, violence/disturbing images, and some drug and alcohol use by teens.

Runtime:

106 min | Germany:107 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Goshen, Indiana, USA

Company:

Lost Toys

Goofs:

Plot holes: When Sarah (Anna Kendrick) is in the bus, she finds Jillian's phone, and it is on. Jillian had been gone for a couple of weeks at that point, and her phone shouldn't have needed to be recharged. A minute later she finds the phone of Janet, who had been missing for years. And still, her phone works perfectly fine, and it even has enough power to make a call.

Movie Connections:

References Point Break (1991)

For a few thousand $$$, they could have bought a decent script.

It seems like I spend half my time watching poorly-produced and horribly-acted movies with good stories and ideas, and the other half watching well-produced movies with zero imagination and stock story lines. "Elsewhere" falls into the latter category. The actresses (and actors) are cute and do a decent job. (Keep your eye on the "weird' girl.) The production values are quite good, with interesting, but not impressive, cinematography. The whole movie is definitely not low-budget in appearance or finish.

But the story and script are just awful...retreads of thrillers done hundreds of times before. Trust me, you'll pick out the bad guy within the first few minutes of the movie. No hints are required. There is very little tension in the movie, except for the few action sequences. Contrary to what you might expect from the tag lines, there isn't any "string" of mysterious disappearances. One girl disappears and, five years later, so does another one. The cell phone texting angle has been done many times before and much better, so no tension there. The typical (and stereotyped) red herrings abound.

Finally, towards the end of the movie, you get a scene which ought to be subtitled "Scriptwriters Got Tired Here" or "Director Couldn't Figure Out How to Film This the Right Way." Two teens try to sneak up on a farmhouse where a (potential) bad guy is sleeping by creeping through a cornfield. Since they want to be stealthy, they (of course) bring along fluorescent tube lanterns. No, nobody would notice THOSE being carried through a completely dark cornfield at night, would they? And who would ever notice the bright light coming form the completely unlit barn when the kids finally get there? Unfortunately, this is typical of the writing in this film.

Well-made, but still pretty worthless and unexciting.