Mummy An' the Armadillo (2004)

Another case of a stage play taken to the screen with no adaptation. There is a different dynamic for stage dialog versus movies, and it is painfully obvious as the characters deliver lines with no sense of pace. It comes off as a bunch of people just saying lines *at* one another. That's just one of the things that's wrong with this movie. What's worse is the loose, relatively incoherent plot. The simplistic relationship between the characters leads to a letdown when the final "dark secret" is revealed. The film tries for an intense, psychological edge; but the intensity never escalates beyond a bunch of people screaming and waving various weapons at one another, and the psychology never gets much beyond Psych 101.

Mummy and the Armadillo was a film that took a while to get going. Claire Kramer basically held the first half hour together on her own - a character far from her Bring it on Days and once she had Brad Renfro & Betty Buckley to play against, (they come in about a half hour into it) the film really came to life. They're performances were memorable and worthy of their namesakes. Armadillo is a dark, suspenseful thriller that keeps your attention - I understand that it was based off of a play from years ago and it comes off as such. Again the performances that keep it glued together are the actors mentioned above. The film drives to a finally that has a strong payoff with a great twist. It leaves you thinking - looking back to possible red hearings that may have been there along the way. For a picture shot completely in one place, (sans exterior establishing shots and a quick scene in a car) it holds together well and they certainly got their monies worth. It was an enjoyable film.

I saw this movie at a film festival in Houston. Unfortunately, the only laudable aspect of this film was Brad Renfro's performance. Outside of his character and delivery, the movie came up short on its suspense, drama, depth, and ultimately, quality.Despite a cast of potentially capable actor and actresses, the storyline was so far-fetched that the people and situations were too much for even a mammoth-sized suspension of disbelief. One ridiculous, inexplicable scene after another left you asking if how on earth any one town could have so many utterly insane people walking around on a daily basis. Unintentionally, it was like a fast-paced and unnuanced David Lynch movie that had the cinematography of Dawson's Creek and the suspense of a Meg Ryan romantic comedy.

I had the chance to see this film at the Houston Film Festival. It took me for quite a ride which is what I love about it. It had me right from the opening credits. Johnathon Schaech has some incredibly eerie scenes and one-liners that will stick in my head for quite some time. The cast put in tremendous performances and I found it fascinating to see Clare Kramer in such a serious role that I wasn't used to seeing her in. She did a great job with it. The story is quite twisted and will surely have a cult following. As it unfolds, it gets more and more disturbing until it all comes together at the end with nice shocking twist. The top-notch production value, incredible acting and very twisted story make this a fantastic ride in my book and well worth seeing.