Shut In is the latest film I’ve seen that should’ve gone direct-to-video and one that if not for its star, Naomi Watts, might’ve been unwatchable as the script is filled with cliché after cliché and was predictable from beginning to end.
Shut In
(2016)
Genre(s): Suspense Thriller
Fox | PG13 – 91 min. – $39.99 | February 28, 2017
Date Published: 03/04/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 2.0/5 |
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Plot Summary: Mary (NAOMI WATTS) is a child psychologist whose husband is killed in a car crash and step-son Stephen (CHARLIE HEATON) survives but is in a vegetative state with Mary caring for him. One night she discovers one of her patients, Tom (JACOB TREMBLAY), who is deaf, breaks in after he escaped from the custody of child services. But before she can find out what’s going on, he has disappeared. Soon enough, she begins hearing strange noises around the house though she’s unsure if she’s really hearing them or they’re a part of night terrors, as suggested by her doctor, Wilson (OLIVER PLATT).
Review: Shut In is a movie myself and others have seen numerous times before; it’s a template thriller with nothing new to offer and, frankly, gets on the tedious side going into a third act and a twist anyone could see coming early on. The only saving grace, and it’s a minor one, is with Naomi Watts who at least appears to be giving it her all with a third-rate script and ho-hum direction. Jacob Tremblay, in his limited screen time, as the deaf boy isn’t half bad and Charlie Heaton was, I suppose, okay though not exactly impressive. Oliver Platt meanwhile stops on by reminding me, again, that he’s still around and vastly underutilized. The film was helmed by Farren Blackburn who is better known for directing a variety of television shows like Daredevil, Doctor Who and the upcoming Iron Fist. Shut In is Blackburn’s second feature-length film following a film called Hammer of the Gods. Here, it’s paint-by-numbers with little tension. This isn’t to say the film doesn’t look good and with Yves Belanger (Trauma, Demolition) lensing.
Meanwhile, Christina Hodson wrote the script in her debut with the upcoming Unforgettable on the horizon which looks like a Lifetime Original Movie with a modestly better budget, as well as the Bumblebee spin-off film. I don’t want lay complete blame on Hodson, but it seems like she grabbed bits and pieces from far better suspense-thrillers and this certainly had a Lifetime vibe that somehow got an A-list star. Shut In is the quintessential Saturday night rental and one that will quickly be forgotten the day after and only worthwhile for Naomi Watts’s performance more than anything. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover; inside is a DVD Copy and redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The disc only includes two featurettes:
Theatrical Trailer (2:25; HD) |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| Shut In comes to Blu-ray through Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and is presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Given the dark tone of the film, even daylight scenes aren’t particularly bright but still there is some color here and there and skin tones did appear to be natural looking. Detail was also nice with fine sharpness throughout. I didn’t notice any major instances of artifacts or aliasing even in the darkly lit shots which seemed smooth. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is standard enough and through most of the movie, shows off its depth with the jump score beats and does get a boost during the “thrilling” finale making fine usage of the front and rear speakers, the latter generally utilized for ambient noises (like the sounds of hammering). Given the advancement in audio, I did expect a bit more for a suspense-thriller, but it’s a more than satisfactory track. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
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Overall, Shut In is the latest film I’ve seen that should’ve gone direct-to-video and one that if not for its star, Naomi Watts, might’ve been unwatchable as the script is filled with cliché after cliché and was predictable from beginning to end. I suppose if you like Watts, it might be worth Netflix-ing. Fox’s Blu-ray release offers good video/audio transfers and a throwaway set of bonus features. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.