Known primarily (as per his IMDb resume) as 'Miscellaneous Crew' in the film industry, his first time attempt as Writer and Director - Rankin Hickman produced a surprisingly fun and entertaining little gem of a film! I would have never guessed this was his first attempt as director, as he was on point with all the camera shots/angles and captured the scenes quite well and certainly directed his actors to portray their characters perfectly... better than some seasoned directors in recent films I've seen.
Sure, this type of story has been done many times before, but considering this was Hickman's writing and directorial debut, this is one of the better ones, clearly produced on a budget with no huge Hollywood backing. It even has a nice unexpected twist.
All the actors gave very solid performances, especially James Moses Black, who was very convincing as Detective Spencer Soleno. Even novice film actor Dave Davis as the youngest Marek gave a solid performance. I don't think either of these actors were leads in any major film production before this film (mainly TV shows, extras and short films) and deserve the credit for their performances.
Granted, this is by no means some big budget Hollywood production with A-list actors, but I was still just as entertained.
I really don't have any negative critique for this film, maybe the pace a little slow at times, but the decent score made it vaguely noticeable. The plot had some small issues, but again, this was still very well done for a first-attempt writer.
It's refreshing to see up-and-coming talent exploring in new areas of film outside their wheelhouses and succeeding.
Would I see this film again and/or recommend it? Most certainly.
A well deserved 8/10 from me.
