Review: ‘Right at Your Door’

What would it be like to find yourself stranded in your own house during the fallout of multiple dirty bombs? Right at Your Door is one interpretation of the aftermath of such a terrorist attack. Art director Chris Gorak (Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Fight Club) turns first-time director with this tightly woven psychological thriller that seems uncharacteristic for an artist that’s worked on such stylistic films, but does a extremely good job at conveying the shear terror that an event like this would cause the victims.

Right at Your Door begins as Lexi, played by Mary McCormack (1408), goes off to work one morning in Los Angeles. Her husband Brad, played by Rory Cochrane (A Scanner Darkly), stays at home. That morning a series of large explosions are set off in downtown L.A. and Brad quickly begins to fall apart as he attempts to reach, but authorities have already blocked all routes and access to the city due to fears of chemical agents distributed by the bomb. Brad must make a difficult decision to protect himself, which only becomes more difficult when Lexi returns, contaminated by the bombs fallout.

The movie maintains a gripping emotional pace though the remainder of the film as Brad and Lexi must find comfort with each other, separated by a few mere millimeters of plastic used to seal the house from the contamination. Having followed every instruction broadcast over the news media, Brad and Lexi soon discover that not everything they’ve been told is accurate. The doctors they were told would show up, door to door, were replaced with soldiers making contamination checks on each house. Will Lexi survive the contamination? What if the soldiers sweeping the neighborhoods find her? Will Brad be reunited with Lexi? These are questions running through the viewer’s mind as the drama unfolds into a shocking and ironic climax, further emphasizing the underlying elements of the story.

Just below the surface of Right at Your Door is a commentary on the state of our nation’s security and what’s at stake for us as individuals if something such as this were to occur and we weren’t ready. As many movies have tackled before, this one suggests a certain level of authoritarian martial law, lacking humanity during the massive trauma of such a catastrophe. The single location set, shot almost entirely inside Brad and Lexi’s house, combined with some decent acting, make this an unexpected sleeper DVD release that deserves recognition.

[rating:3/5]

DVD Features:

• Audio Commentary with director Chris Gorak
• An Interview with Chris Gorak
• “Film School” tips on making an indie film with Chris Gorak
• Alternative Script Endings