By Michael Gavino
Imagine a disaster film that deals with a massive dirty bomb attack on Los Angeles. You would probably think about a massive big budget fest loaded with CGI, but weak on story and character development. Meet Right at Your Door, the antithesis of the modern disaster film.
The movie starts with would be musician Brad (Rory Cochrane) lounging around the house as his breadwinning girlfriend Lexi (Mary McCormack) goes off to work in downtown LA. As Brad wastes time at home, the first reports of explosions in the downtown district start to appear.
Brad attempts to call Lexi on her cell, but cannot reach her. When further reports reveal the massive nature of the attack, a panicked Brad jumps into his car and tries to find Lexi. Unfortunately, he gets turned away from the police who have sealed off the blast area. He immediately tries other roads, but each time he gets turned away.
Crestfallen, Brad heads home. As he does, further reports indicate that the explosions were part of a massive dirty bomb attack. All those outside the blast area are instructed to head home, seal their houses, and most importantly not to allow anyone from within the blast zone in.
As Brad gets home, local handyman Alvaro (Tony Perez) who cannot get to his own house asks if he can stay with Brad. Together they seal the house. Afterwards they try to deal with the massive tragedy and the inevitable loss of love ones. Suddenly there is a knock; Lexi has stumbled home from the blast zone. Heartbroken, Brad refuses to let the contaminated Lexi in.
The rest of the picture deals with how Brad, Lexi, and Alvaro deal with conflicting orders from the authorities, grief over the event, and anger with each other and the situation they are faced with leading to a shocking ending.
What makes Right at Your Door so good is it strives to be more than a simple disaster picture. It tries to reach deep inside the human psyche and reveal deep sometimes-dark truths. This separates it from the majority of disaster pictures that overload the senses with special effects and use of story as a way to get the audience from one explosion to another. It’s the difference between a comic book and a serious piece of literature. So if you demand a little more from your disaster picture, make it a point to watch Right at Your Door.
www.RightAtYourDoor.com
