Danika (2006)

The story follows Danika, a woman whose fears for her children are manifested in premonitions of death and disaster. Bierko plays Tomei's husband, while Hall is her psychiatrist and confidant.

Director:

Ariel Vromen

Writer:

Joshua Leibner

Stars:

Marisa Tomei, Hannah Marks, Guy Camilleri

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marisa Tomei	...	Danika Merrick
Hannah Marks	...	Lizzie Geralds
Guy Camilleri	...	Man
Akuyoe Graham	...	Patricia Guilford
Ori Pfeffer	...	Bank Robber #1
Jeffrey Nicholas Brown	...	Bank Robber #2 (as Jeffrey Brown)
Craig Bierko	...	Randy Merrick
Kyle Gallner	...	Kurt Merrick
Nicki Prian	...	Lauren Merrick (as Nicky Prian)
Ridge Canipe	...	Brian Merrick
Regina Hall	...	Dr. Evelyn Harris
Jacqueline Pinol	...	Nanny
James Avery	...	Teddy Johnson
Tanya Linette Smith	...	Sales Lady
John Ducey	...	TV Anchorman

Storyline

Danika is a thirty-five year old overprotective mother with a beautiful family composed of her successful husband Randy, two sons - the teenager Kurt and the little Brian, and one teenager daughter - Lauren. Danika is disturbed and near a breakdown, having dark and terrifying nightmares and daydreams; distracted in her work and consequently committing mistakes; and under psychiatric treatment with Dr. Evelyn. Her problems originated when her husband cheated on her with the nanny of their children, breaking her confidence in him. The lack of attention caused by her disturbed mind leads her family into tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

children | death | fear | premonition | psychiatrist | 

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Taglines:

Her visions are beyond your worst fears...

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, some sexual content and a scene of drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Visions - Die dunkle Gabe

Filming Locations:

21311 Victory Blvd, Canoga Park, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Omega Entertainment, Danika LLC, Roberts/David Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Craig Bierko joined the cast the day before shooting began, replacing the original actor cast as Randy.

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Goofs

The movie is set in Baltimore, but in several scenes Los Angeles signage can be seen, including a billboard with an 818 area code.

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Connections

References Hocus Pocus (1993)

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Soundtracks

"What A Day"
Written & Performed by Greg Laswell

User Reviews

An Impressive Thriller

Relatively new cinematic team of director Ariel Vromen and writer Joshua Leibner pounce onto the scene with a surprisingly fine little film that has basically gone unnoticed. DANIKA is a story that demands the viewer's careful attention and rewards that attention with a finely wrought surprise ending. This is a tough movie to review: almost anything that is said about it diminishes the impact of a fresh look.

Danika (the superb and grossly underused actress Marisa Tomei) is a beautiful, well-dressed successful professional woman, loved by her husband Randy (Craig Bierko) and her children Kurt (Kyle Gallner), Lauren (Nicki Prian) and Brian (Ridge Canipe). Yet even from the opening scenes we can tell something is amiss: Danika 'sees' disturbing things, terrifying events and people that alter her attention to her job and her family. She visits a young psychiatrist Evelyn (Regina Hall) who becomes her confidant - the only person who accepts that Danika is witnessing disturbing sights. A mixture of critical pieces of disastrous events flash before Danika's eyes as well as flashbacks to some years back when her children were young. Danika overcompensates for her fears by being an overprotective mother, an unfortunate trait that begins to fracture her family.

The pace of the film changes to rapid fire events as the reasons for Danika's visions become clear: we finally see just what made this brilliant and strong woman the victim of a terrified and disturbed psyche and the manner in which each of the characters in the story impacts this discovery is well-illuminated. The surprise ending scene is a stunner and one that will haunt the viewer.

Marisa Tomei makes this very difficult, well-written role completely believable. She is an actress of enormous gifts. Likewise the remainder of the cast offers such fine ensemble work that credit must be given director Ariel Vromen for being a young talent on the rise. Yes, there are some portions of the film that beg credibility but then that is what delusional thinking is about. This is a tight little film that deserves attention. Grady Harp