Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Ben Mendelsohn, Liana Liberato, Cam Gigandet, Jordana Spiro, Dash Mihok, Emily Meade,
Nico Tortorella, Tina Parker, Simone Levin
Written by Karl Gajdusek
Certification UK 15 | US R
Runtime 91 minutes
Directed by Joel Schumacher
It's been 14 years since its release, but I still haven't forgiven Joel Schumacher for Batman & Robin, the worst movie of not only the 1990s but arguably any other decade too. Since then he's trundled on making films and his latest here, while not quite achieving the same degree of awfulness as his caped crusader epic, is still a woeful exercise in shallow, by-the-numbers, so-called suspense. And with two starry leads to boot.
Poor Cage continues his career trajectory downwards. Drive Angry earlier this year was a guilty pleasure, though it flopped at the box office, while Season of the Witch was a misfire. Kidman was nominated for an Oscar in February for Rabbit Hole. Her agent deserves a severe kicking for setting up Trespass for her. And the studio have no faith in it either, releasing it on DVD the same time as its meagre cinema debut Stateside.
It plays like a straight-to-DVD release, in fact. Cage and Kidman are a wealthy couple whose plush home is raided by villainous Mendelsohn and his cohorts – unstable, drug addicted wife Spiro and tormented brother Gigandet. They are initially after some prize diamonds in Cage's safe but then swiftly decide to take his cash too. Also involved is violent bruiser Mihok and Liberato (so good as the teenage victim in David Schwimmer's Trust) as the rebellious daughter to the suffering couple, who shows some courage in trying to beat the evildoers.
Eventually they all end up double crossing each other as the tired plot contrivances pile up relentlessly. The dialogue is atrocious, the script cliched and the performances overwrought, with everyone screaming and shouting at one another. The breakouts of violence elicit few thrills and come the finish this inept potboiler will leave you exhausted with its silliness. Schumacher needs to redeem himself yet again.