Stray (2015)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

STRAY is an indie drama that drags and drags and drags right from the outset. It's listed as horror but feels more like a dark psychological thriller, or at least it would if they'd remembered to add any thrills in. The female protagonist is a runaway with a murderous past who turns up in a small town to begin a new life. Will anyone uncover her dark secret? You won't really care in this slow-moving and uneventful movie which has a glossy, TV movie look to it.

I have never bothered to review a movie on IMDb before but I am fuming at the reviews and score given to this movie. So much so that I feel the need to contribute my own review so that people pondering watching this movie can have some real information on it. Lord only knows it's 90mins of my life I cannot get back.The movie starts okay with an intriguing opening 3mins but then descends into a turgid, embarrassing mess of a movie to such an alarming extent I genuinely thought I had switched channels by mistake. For starters, the overall level of acting is absolutely woeful. Whilst the widower in the opening scenes and the main protagonist can perhaps move on from this movie without terminal damage to their careers, the rest of the screen talent do not get off that easy and I do not expect to see them on that side of the camera again. To say the acting is wooden is an insult to wood. As for the direction, I've seen better skills showcased at school nativity plays. With the children directing. I'm not really clear on the script and where it was heading but I suspect it started off as a reasonable idea which was much in need of rework but instead it's been thrown onto the screen and implemented in such an amateurish fashion as to kill the idea stone dead. I would not normally drop such a viscerally negative review (even though it's all true). But for this movie to languish within the otherwise superb IMDb website on a 6+ rating makes a mockery of the whole scoring system. Upon further reading of the other reviews, it blatantly appears that the other 'critic' reviews are either a) bought off by the movie makers b) the actual movie makers or c) quite simply are thinking of another film and are unfortunately confusing this movie with another one. The reviews I've seen are littered with references to Hitchcock and 'film noir' classics but to associate this movie with anything like that is embarrassingly fake. Moreover, to comment that the actress playing the mother was 'refreshing' and the music (I simply do not recall there being any) 'built tension' simply lend themselves to options a, b or c above and nothing else whatsoever.If this review irritates those involved with the movie, then quite simply you deserve it for accepting the scandalously misleading and false reviews before this one. To potential viewers, stay away from this movie and beware movies with less than a 100 reviews as it appears quite possible to artificially inflate a movies score regardless of the quality of the movie.

Awful. This "movie" earns all of it's one star glory on IMDb's rating scale with 1 being awful.I watched, as it dragged along, thinking it will get somewhere. Maybe. 3/4 of the way in to the go nowhere script I stayed to figure out if this was a Lifetime movie about a crazy bee otch, like they all are from that network. I assume it is by the commercial breaks interspersed throughout and the awful acting - if that's what you would call it.I was successful in figuring out the person who reviewed this before me was obviously involved or related to someone in this abortion. The acting left a LOT to be desired. As for the cinematography described by the other viewer as being so good, well I busted out laughing reading the review. (Hint: if you're going to write the review as a favor, next time dummy down all the Oscar worthy dialogue.) The script was laughable. A sophomore in film school could've done better. The reference to Psycho by the other reviewer was another clue they're involved in the making. This isn't even in the same ballpark!Do yourself a favor...don't waste any time on even pushing the play icon on this drivel. To exercise even that much inertia is more then "Stray" deserves.

"Stray"Nena Eskridge's riveting story of an abused woman desperate odyssey to find normality in a chaotic world is yet another echo of the dark side of past film noir classics. It is through Nena Eskridge's bold direction that this film defines itself as a "dark film" a.k.a. "film noir" through the films use of light and shadow and it's criminally inclined malevolent characters. While the film was obviously produced on a small budget, it reminds one of past classics like "Psycho" and "Identity". Nena Eskridge artistic rendering is painted with a broad brush filled with a Hitchcock cinematic type of magic that causes the viewer to wonder "What is going to happen next?" Actresses Gabrielle Stone provides a stellar performance as a confused and tormented young woman who is running from a dark past and is willing to do anything and everything to find a new life. This film is a timely reminder that "what we want, is not always what we want" and "what we get, is not always what we get". Arita Trahan turns in an amazing performance as an older woman that provides a much needed comparison as well as contrast to Gabrielle Stone's character. The cinematography provided by David Landau was excellent, and while the film was shot in color it still fulfills the necessary ingredients to be "film noir". Kudos to Nena Eskridge for the creation of her wonderful story of a woman with a mirror cracked personality who struggles to find a new life while trying to run away from a dark and disturbing past. This time around with Nena Eskridge's capable direction, the old adage "You Can't Go Home Again" takes on a whole new meaning.