SILENT PANIC

(director/writer: Kyle Schadt; screenwriter: Tracey Friesen; cinematographer: Jordan Rennert; editor: Kyle Schadt; music: Field Observations; cast: Jay Habre (Dominic), Joseph Martinez (Bobby), Constance Brenneman (Robin), Sean Nateghi (Eagle), Helene Udy (Lorraine), Jeff Dowd (Frank); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Kyle Schadt, Jordan Rennert, Amanda Sonnenschein; Indie Rights; 2018)

“A lackluster indie wannabe ’50s film noir.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A lackluster indie wannabe ’50s film noir from writer-director Kyle Schadt (“Sunland”).

Three friends–Eagle (Sean Nateghi), Bobby (Joseph Martinez) and Dominic (Jay Habre)–discover a dead body of a young woman in the trunk of their car while ending a camping trip, but cannot agree on whether or not to tell the police.The car owner, Eagle, is an ex-con, who was imprisoned for a year in a crime he didn’t commit and is still haunted by a bad prison experience. He talks his friends into going home without reporting the corpse, telling them he’ll find out what to do if given time.

Eagle is grateful to the support from his girlfriend Robin (Constance Brenneman), but is afraid to tell her about the body in the trunk feeling she might not understand he’s involved in another terrible incident. Bobby is a single dad, an ex-cocaine addict, feeling guilt pangs about not reporting the body while concerned about getting addicted again, and Dominic is a low-key writer adverse to excitement while pursuing a romance with a co-ed.

With the body still in the trunk, Robin takes the car to the shopping mall. She’s pursued by Eagle on bike, who will stop her from opening the trunk after shopping.

Eagle’s final solution is to abandon the car so it can be stolen. It’s a dumb idea (well, it’s a dumb film).

The plot turns as uninteresting as the characters.What initially had possibilities only turns into a tedious conventional thriller that has a strained ending, as each friend wrestles with their conscience on how to handle their seemingly simple problem.

REVIEWED ON 7/2/2019       GRADE: C+