Stuck

Loosely based on a real event, Stuart Gordon’s wicked Hitchcockian thriller relies on suspense, black comedy and wince-inducing horror rather than slice-of-life realism. Mena Suvari plays care home drudge Brandi, who leaves a late-night bar drunk and ploughs into unemployed man Tom (Stephen Rea), whose mangled body becomes wedged in her windscreen. Distracted for a while by her amorous boyfriend, she later returns to inspect the damage, callously toying with Tom like a cat playing with a half-dead mouse. But Tom is one resilient rodent.

Deftly switching between captor and captive, Gordon wrings every drop of tension from the B-movie-style premise. Gordon has directed drama, such as Mamet’s ‘Edmond’, but also visceral horror movies like ‘Re-Animator’. Elements of both are evident in this taut psychological thriller.