Rubberneck (2012)

Paul Harris works at a small research facility on the outskirts of Boston. After a weekend tryst with a co-worker leaves him wanting more, his unreciprocated desires gradually mold into an ... See full summary »

Director:

Alex Karpovsky

Writers:

Garth Donovan, Alex Karpovsky

Stars:

Alex Karpovsky, Jaime Ray Newman, Dennis Staroselsky

Cast

Credited cast:
Alex Karpovsky	...	Paul
Jaime Ray Newman	...	Danielle
Dennis Staroselsky
Amanda Good Hennessey
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marianna Bassham	...	Marsha
William DeCoff	...	Detective Sgt. Niemann
Andrew Horowitz	...	Young Paul
Matthias Lupri	...	Man at Table
Sara Murphy
Dakota Shepard	...	Kathy
Mary Wexler	...	Party Guest

Storyline

Paul Harris works at a small research facility on the outskirts of Boston. After a weekend tryst with a co-worker leaves him wanting more, his unreciprocated desires gradually mold into an acute infatuation. When Danielle takes interest in a new scientist at the laboratory, Paul's suppressed resentments and perverse delusions finally become unhinged, triggering a horrific course of events that mercilessly engulf a tortured past and fugitive present.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vrahnas

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blameless Twins

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In specific, all nude and simulated love scenes utilized a body double for the character of "Kathy."

User Reviews

It's a subtly powerful little film, though really misrepresented

I understand that it's a trailer's job to sell a movie, but when the trailer grossly misrepresents the movie it is hard to get over one's initial feelings of irritation. The trailer for Rubberneck is intriguing and looks a lot creepier than your usual stalker flick: the emotions seem to run deeper, the entanglements more intimate --- it appears there's a lot here.

There is, just not what you'd expect since...it's not really a stalker flick. Rubberneck's story is supposedly based on a true crime case, and that's very plausible to believe once you've seen it. All the action develops very slowly, with a lot of nuance given to character development and back-story. When the violence does occur, it's shockingly sudden and will definitely knock you off balance if you aren't ready for it.

The problem lies after that climax, which comes about midway through the film. From that point on, there's a feeling that there should be more somehow...but again, if we can believe the "true events" caption, it probably was a pretty predictable denouement.

Even though Karpovsky is coming into his own as a director (his "Red Flag" was similarly competent yet quiet), his strength is still his acting ability and he channels a lot of interesting shadings into his character of Paul. He seems ordinary enough when we first see him, but slowly his patina of banality falls away to reveal a very wounded, sick person beneath, but never one you overtly villianize. And Jaimie Ray Newman gives much resonance to the character of Danielle, his one-night-stand love crush. Her character isn't particularly likable or sympathetic, but she is written and rendered realistically.

If you can get past your expectations, Rubberneck is a very intense character piece that will stay with you for sometime. It is subtle, and not really a thriller by any definition, regardless of how it's categorized.