Blackwater Lane – Excellent, A Race Against Time Psychological Thriller

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Category: UK A&E, Lifestyle, Culture

Published on Monday, 27 January 2025 15:44

Written by Janet Walker

Blackwater Lane, from Lionsgate and Plaion Pictures, presents an intense psychological thriller as a quaint English hamlet is the scene of a ghastly murder, and the evidence suggests that the murderer may not be finished.

The film opens with Cass, played by Minka Kelly, sitting mediating on her Tarot cards, the death card is reveled and instantly a crow plays into the window, and dies. She later recalls this to her best friend, Rachel, played by Maggie Grace, as a visit from her dead mother.

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After this scene, Cass, a drama teacher at a local academy, is listening to Andrew, played by Judah Cousin, recites the final monologue of the season. As they are leaving, John Collins, played by Alan Calton, approaches her asking if she is celebrating with them this evening at the local pub. She is, and the scene cuts to the end of the night.

It is a dark stormy night in England, and she telephones her husband, Matthew, played by Dermot Mulroney. He asks her not to take Blackwater Lane, especially on a night like this, stick to the main road. She agrees. Of course, she decides to drive Blackwater Lane, which has no streetlights, and is surrounded by forest. In the distance, she sees a car on the side of the road. She slows, and although she doesn't honk the horn or try to signal the driver, she does, slow down enough to see what looks like a woman, not in distress. So, she drives home.

The next morning Matthew explains a woman was murdered on Blackwater Lane. Cass, not wanting to explain to him, that after she had promised not to drive through the forest, she did anyway, so she goes into the bathroom and listens to the media report.

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This moves the film into the second act. During a Saturday lunch with Rachel, she explains about the crow flying into the window and they begin to talk about a birthday gift which is when we begin to see that Cass is experiencing what looks like forgetfulness. Rachel explains we all agreed that you would buy the gift. Which Cass does not have any recollection of saying. Next, Matthew explains that he told her that he had to go away for a week, and she explains that he didn't tell her.

Now Matthew asks about the medication she is taking, as it sometimes causes hallucinations, and we discover that Cass was institutionalized after her mother's death and has been taking medication. So, with Matthew being gone for a week, Cass reaches out to Rachel, and she agrees to spend the night, and then cancels at the last minute.

The house, which is known locally as the Crawford House, is an old English estate, that once belonged to Rachel's family, but her dad had financial problems, and they had to sell it, so Cass's family bought it and what was supposed to be Rachel's inheritance became Cass's. The house is old, and creaks, and is allegedly haunted.

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Cass is home alone, when she believes her dead mother is calling her from the grave, and as she believes in the occult, the sequence of events seeing shadows, darkened figures in the house, finding her erring at the scene of the murder, hearing the breaking of glass and no evidence of broken glass, she becomes convinced the murderer is targeting her.

Blackwater Lane is an intense psychological drama. The ensemble cast delivered strong, believable performances. The decision by the director Jeff Celentano to have Minka Kelly's character, Cass, extremely soft-spoken added to the timidness of the character and made her appear an easy target. Her alleged mental illness, made one wonder if she were soft-spoken to hide. The performances by Dermont Mulroney and Maggie Grace and were realistic and convincing. By the big reveal at the end, it is as if our eyes, as the audience, are opened and what we believed throughout the film is the furthest thing from reality.  Excellent.

Blackwater Lane, a teasing race against time thriller, is available for digital download. See it.

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Country: UK.

Language: English.

Runtime: 108 minutes.

Release Date: UK and Irish Digital Downloads January 27, 2025.

Director: Jeff Celentano.

Executive Producer: Robert Abramoff, Tannaz Anisi, Jeff Celentano, Danny Chan, Ron Cudy, Ian Hutchinson, Robert K. MacLean, Norman Merry, Greg Schenz, Oleg Shardin, Paula Graybill Smith, Saskia Thomas.

Producer: Elizabeth Fowler, Warren Ostergard, Shaun Sanghani, Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar.

Writer: Elizabeth Fowler based on the book by B.A. Paris.

Cast: Minka Kelly, Dermont Mulroney, Maggie Grace, Natalie Simpson, Alan Calton, Edward Baker-Duly, Judah Cousin, Kris Johnson, Sally Blouet, Pandora Clifford.