The Trigger Effect

David Koepp is a hotshot screenwriter.  He started off penning cheap action pictures (Dark Angel aka I Come in Peace) and thrillers (Bad Influence) but got his big break with Death Becomes Her.  Now he’s running in the same circles as Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg and collaborating on scripts like Jurassic Park, Carlito’s Way and The Shadow.  Eventually he built up enough clout to try his hand at directing which resulted in the modest suspenseful drama The Trigger Effect.

Based on the Twilight Zone episode “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” the story is about how people cope with a prolonged blackout.  Things progress the way you would expect with tension and animosity becoming ever present in the suburban community.  People can’t go about their normal lives like they always have so they get extremely antsy.  But there are also unexpected consequences like Matthew (Kyle MacLachlan (Showgirls, The Hidden)) and Ann (Elisabeth Shue (Cocktail, Hollow Man)) have a newborn with an ear infection yet they can’t simply go down to the pharmacy to fill a prescription because it can’t be processed through the computer.  This leads to Matthew getting so frustrated that he steals the medicine when the pharmacist isn’t looking.

Matthew and Ann’s friend Joe (Dermot Mulroney (Zodiac, Copycat)) stops by to check on them and he stirs the pot by suggesting they buy a gun to protect themselves.  He also adds some very contrived sexual tension between he and Ann.  I really wish they left that out as it doesn’t add anything to the movie.  Joe’s an alright guy otherwise though who cares about his friends and certainly means well.  Like when a burglar breaks into Matthew and Ann’s house during the night Joe is right by the couple’s side to confront the guy.  Unfortunately a neighbor shoots the thief who was only armed with a small switchblade.  To cover himself the scumbag neighbor plants a gun and lies to the cops about what happened.

After this incident the group decides to leave town for a while until things cool off.  However, the road isn’t any safer.  In fact it seems like a no man’s land post-apocalypse type place where only the brave or truly desperate venture.  Our protagonists soon run into more trouble but that’s as far as I’ll go.  You’ll have to watch.

This is the kind of smart high concept low to mid level budget film that doesn’t get made anymore.  The building of pressure and dangerous scenarios is well done starting with shoplifting and climaxing with people pointing guns at each other.  The story is relatively simple but poses big questions.  And the characters are likeable but flawed giving them some depth.  Matthew is jealous and doesn’t handle stress great, Ann alludes to a “checkered past” and Joe is a hard head who thinks he’s always right.

Race is touched on somewhat but not tackled directly.  Koepp uses the stereotype of black people talking during movies to introduce a character (Richard T. Jones (Event Horizon, Concussion)) who plays a big role later on.  This also shows Matthew’s initial unwillingness to engage in confrontation, even after the guy’s friend tells Ann to “shut the fuck up, bitch!”, and how certain circumstances can change a man.  The ending may be a comment on race but if it is I’m not sure what’s being said.  The picture really sticks to how the blackout affects this white family and their white community.

There’s some caution on technological advancement that can be inferred here.  It’s the old argument about computers ‘n shit being an Achilles heel.  If you take that away then humanity won’t be able to function.  You can’t purchase anything or go anywhere because you can’t buy gas or a plane ticket.

Of course the big idea Koepp wants you to think about is how people react when put in a stressful, confusing and possibly dire situation.  Will we band together to survive or fight each other in a blind paranoid rage?

On a technical level everything looks good.  There’s an impressive shot towards the beginning that lasts several minutes and follows a bunch of people being inconvenienced in different ways like getting a drink spilled on them or being cut in line.  It’s interesting because these little annoyances bug the shit out of all of us but it’s nothing compared to what’s coming.  It’s like you thought this was bad?  You ain’t seen nothing yet.

The opening narration over coyotes gnawing on an animal carcass is a little too on the nose though.  We get it, we all turn primal when the lights go out.

This is one of those steamy hot pictures like Body Heat or Falling Down where everyone constantly complains how damn hot it is making you feel sticky gross just by watching.  It’s always amazing to me when a movie can portray the stifling heat so vividly that it’s nearly impossible to remain passive.  I tend to get almost as uncomfortable as the folks on screen.

Overall Koepp did a really good job with this, especially for his first time out.  I wonder if he was blown out working on huge Hollywood spectacles like Mission: Impossible or if he just wanted to try something smaller for his directing debut, or both.  In any case it did horribly at the box office and was immediately forgotten about.  Fortunately for Koepp this didn’t have any ramifications.  He kept on writing big shit like Raimi’s Spider-Man, Fincher’s Panic Room, Spielberg and Lucas’ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Tom Cruise’s The Mummy.  It’s also nice to know he kept on directing.  The only other one of his I’ve seen is Secret Window which was not very good but Stir of Echoes and Premium Rush are supposed to be decent.  I wouldn’t touch Ghost Town or Mortdecai though, sorry.

So check out The Trigger Effect.  It’s a neat little film that makes the heady topic at the center of the story feel more accessible than it should.  And I like that aliens aren’t explicitly stated or even alluded to being the culprits behind the blackout as opposed to The Twilight Zone ep.  The movie hits harder by saying that we’ve done all this to ourselves.  The failing power, malicious vibes, poor relations and connections we have with each other is our own doing.  Now we have to deal with it.  Thanks Dave.