Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

There is a murder in the Hollywood hills. Alex Weaver (Helen Slater) is a struggling actress working as a waitress. She replaces her friend to housesit for the needed cash. The cops are next door investigating the murder. The Rankins mistakenly take her bag. Exterminator Mickey (Michael Madsen) unexpectedly comes and assumes Alex to be the owner. He's looking to get something from Rankin and takes her hostage. Will Stryker (Jeffrey Tambor) is the Rankins' new neighbor.There are a couple of scenes where it is a little too convenient. This should be an intense kidnapping thriller. However there are a lot of false notes being played. The music cues are wrong but that's not the half of it. Madsen is being too cool and lacks the intensity of a real criminal. The romance is awkward and fake like a bad romance novel. It's incredible that Mickey would fall for it. It's completely set up wrong. Jeffrey Tambor is a nice turn but the movie keeps trying to go back to the romantic tones. There is no chemistry to work with here. Just when the movie is coming to an acceptable end, it becomes silly as Helen Slater overacts unconvincingly.

Lovely, willowy, under-appreciated straw-blonde knockout Helen "Supergirl" Slater gives a characteristically strong and winning performance as a struggling, out of work Los Angeles actress who's hired by a rich couple to take care of their stately countryside mansion while the hoity-toity twosome are away on vacation. Michael Madsen, who was terrifyingly on the money as the blithely malevolent Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs," is equally impressive here as a cagey, fearsome prowler who breaks into the opulent abode and takes poor Helen hostage. Suspenseful, handsomely made and absorbing, this nifty little straight-to-video thriller boasts an intelligently wrought, very clever and enthralling twist-ridden script, a funny, engaging turn by the always delightful Jeffrey Tambor (Garry Shandling's meek, bumbling sidekick on the superb cable TV series "The Larry Saunders Show") as a gregarious, but meddlesome neighbor, and laudably solid direction from the often lackluster Ken Weiderhorn, who makes belated amends here for having written and directed the appallingly awful zombie horror "comedy" dud "Return of the Living Dead Part II." Overall, it's a modest, but totally up to speed winner.

The first 30 minutes or so of this film makes you think it's a knock-off of "The Desperate Hours". But it's not. The film keeps coming at you with unexpected plot turns. Helen Slater is fabulous as the actress/housesitter. Michael Madsen is as good as he usually is, looking extremely menacing when he wants to. I thought this movie was delightful, surprisingly good for a film I'd never heard of.

Just goes to prove it, if you can't beat them, join them. Helen Slater finally did it, appearing nude on film. An interesting movie made all the better by Slater's performance.