Suspended Animation (2001)

Director:

John D. Hancock

Writer:

Dorothy Tristan (writer)

Release Date:

25 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Will Chill You To The Bone

Plot:

Animator Thomas Kempton gets more than he bargained for when a snowmobile trip turns to terror in the wilds of Northern Michigan...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Suspense | Severed Finger | Wheelchair | Independent Film

Cast

Alex McArthur	...	Tom Kempton
Laura Esterman	...	Vanessa Boulette
Sage Allen	...	Ann Boulette
Rebecca Harrell	...	Hilary Kempton
Fred Meyers	...	Sandor Hansen
Maria Cina	...	Clara Hansen
Jeff Puckett	...	Cliff Modjeska
Daniel Riordan	...	Jack Starr
J.E. Freeman	...	Philip Boulette
Sean Patrick Murphy	...	Fred Phelps
Daniel Mooney	...	Arnold Mann
Gary J. Mion	...	Sheriff Montaigne
Joe Forbrich	...	Production Manager
Robert Breuler	...	Dr. Leo Sagan
Denise Bohn	...	Correspondence 1

Also Known As:

Mayhem (Australia) (DVD title)

Runtime:

114 min (Hamptons Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Germany:18 | Australia:MA

Company:

Filmacres

Movie Connections:

References The Lion King (1994)

Obsession and Injustice

While traveling to fish in a frozen lake with two friends, the director of animated movie Thomas Kempton (Alex McArthur) loses his backpack and returns alone seeking it in the track. However, he has an accident with his vehicle and asks for help to two locals, the insane cannibalistic sisters Vanessa Boulette (Laura Esterman) and Ann Boulette (Sage Allen), and he is abducted by them. Later their friends kill Ann and rescues Thomas, but they are chased by Vanessa in her snowmobile. After an avalanche, Vanessa is considered dead by the law enforcement, but Thomas becomes obsessed by her life, tracking down her daughter Clara Hansen (Maria Cina), who was adopted when she was six and does not know her origins. Thomas gets close to Clara trying to disclose her past and gets involved to a dramatic family situation.

"Suspended Animation", a.k.a. "Mayhem", is a very weird B-movie, since it begins in a suspenseful situation that recalls 'Misery", shifts to a heavy drama and has a very unfair conclusion. I liked the unknown cast: Laura Esterman and Sage Allen are great in the role of the two deranged sisters, showing a stupendous black humor in the beginning of the story while telling Thomas what would happen to him. Maria Cina is very beautiful and has a top-notch performance in her dramatic role. I felt sorry for the unfair fate of her character and I did not like the selfish lead character, capable of jeopardizing the life of another person to save his own. This movie could be a little shorter, but anyway it is underrated in IMDb. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Mutilados" ("Mutilated")