Removal (2010)

Gothic horror meets industrial-strength cleaning products in this spine-tingler about a pill-popping cleaning service employee and a sprawling mansion with secrets of its own.

Director:

Nick Simon

Writers:

Daniel Meersand, Oz Perkins,

Stars:

Billy Burke, Mark Kelly, Oz Perkins

Cast

Credited cast:
Billy Burke	...	Eric Kershe
Mark Kelly	...	Cole Hindin
Oz Perkins	...	Henry Sharpe
Emma Caulfield	...	Jennifer
Kelly Brook	...	Kirby
Elliott Gould	...	Dr. Segal
Sharon Omi	...	Sandra
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sarah Burkhardt	...	Estranged Woman
Bronwyn Cornelius	...	Susan Sharpe
Kim Estes	...	Phil
Evan Helmuth	...	Todd
Ned Hosford	...	Estranged Man
Breanna Pine	...	Liz (voice)
JR Reed	...	Mike (voice)
Florence Regina	...	Nurse Chapel

Storyline

Cole is a likeable regular guy. Except that ever since he witnessed a gruesome murder-suicide, things haven't been quite right. His wife left him, he is tormented by hallucinations and his career has nosedived into a blue collar job with a carpet cleaning service. Just when it seems his life has reached bottom, Cole is called out on an all-night cleaning job in an Italianate mansion far from the city. For company he has Henry, the rich, condescending homeowner who seems to take sadistic pleasure in letting Cole think he has just murdered his wife. A reddish stain on the carpet, a knife hacking into baked rabbit, a cell phone that won't stop ringing - does it add up to murder or is Cole losing his last handhold on his fragile sanity?

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Plot Keywords:

hallucination | suicide

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/bloody images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shadow Play

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silvatar Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Tranquilize"
Performed by The Killers
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Removal from Theatres

If NOT for the fantastic performance from Mark Kelly playing cleaner Cole Hindin (it helped that I had a huge crush on him during this, but that didn't alter my review), some good cinematography and a great soundtrack/score, 'Removal' (5/10) would be a complete waste. Why? Well, I can't say without spoiling the movie's over-used "secret" that I almost missed. I'll be honest, I usually see this coming, and I did kinda get it through the movie with the numerous clues. Part of the problem was the enormously bad acting from the movie's homeowner, Henry Sharpe (Oz Perkins). In fact, it was so obviously bad, you knew something was up. That said, again, Mark did such a good job, you'd think you were watching a Class A movie vs. the B-movie it was. It's worth a rental if you like those suspenseful (lite) thinkers involving a recovering and separated man, Cole, who witnessed his best friend, Eric, kill himself following Eric killing his own wife. Time has passed and now Cole's being summoned to conduct a solo yet "3-Person" cleaning job at a massive mansion overnight. Cole's suspicious of the owner's secretive nature regarding the quick/quiet job and the weird disappearance of his own wife. See it on the cheap.