Across the Hall (2009)

A thriller about a standoff between a young man, his fiancée and his best friend who comes to his aide.

Director:

Alex Merkin

Writers:

Alex Merkin (story), Jesse Mittelstadt (screenplay)

Stars:

Mike Vogel, Danny Pino, Brittany Murphy

Cast

Cast overview:
Mike Vogel	...	Julian
Danny Pino	...	Terry
Brittany Murphy	...	June
Brad Greenquist	...	The Porter
Arie Verveen	...	Lucas
Natalie Smyka	...	Anna
Guillermo Díaz	...	The Cook
Dov Davidoff	...	The Bellhop
William Stanford Davis	...	Custodian
Erika Ringor	...	Detective
Mark Engelhardt	...	Officer
Chase Kim	...	Police Officer
Erika Seifred	...	Dominatrix

Storyline

The unbalanced Terry calls his best friend Julian that is having a bath telling that his beloved fiancée June is cheating him. Terry has followed her to the decadent Riverview Hotel, where she checked in to meet her lover in room 507. Terry explains to Julian that he brought a revolver to shoot her lover and is waiting for him in room 508, but his friend asks him to be calm that he will meet Terry in the hotel.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | based on short film | dominatrix | betrayal | bellhop | 

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Taglines:

Revenge is only one door away.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

La habitación de enfrente

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milk & Media,Insomnia Media Group,Godfather Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brittany Murphy passed away suddenly less than two weeks after this film was released.

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Goofs

Describing the hotel's early history, the porter tells June and Terry that the first guests included the conductor of the Chicago Philharmonic. The Chicago Philharmonic was established in 1989, far later than the hotel's apparent age.

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Connections

References CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)

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Soundtracks

Martini Breakfast
Written by Aaron Kaplan
Performed by Aaron Kaplan

User Reviews

Slow and predictable, but still better than many other low budget films.

In this film, a young woman keeps an affair in a decadent hotel when her betrayed partner comes up unexpectedly, willing to catch and kill both. However, he doesn't know the lover is his own best friend, whom he's speaking through the cell phone. OK... nothing new here. We've seen similar plots in many films, be they major or minor plots. What this film does to make it look fresh is disarticulate the narrative, in the best Tarantino style. However, this feature isn't enough to do so, nor such a basic plot is enough to justify a film lasting more than an hour. The pace is slow as honey in the summer and worse, all story is highly predictable. In the other hand, it has a good soundtrack, an interesting cinematography, very misty and mysterious, and excellent sets. I really felt the decadence of that hotel and the neglect of most of the staff. The ending isn't necessarily surprising but it's served with elegance. Most of the cast are third-rate names ​​who don't make more than would be required. The highlight goes to Brittany Murphy, the most talented and capable actress here. Being a very low budget film, the final product is higher than my expectations, even though it's far from being a great movie.