Written and directed by David Charbonier and Justin Douglas Powell, a pregnant realtor must survive a night of terror when a deranged client shows up at her open house. Starring: Alicia Sanz, Raúl Castillo, David Alexander Flinn, Gore Abrams, Luke Barnett, Cole Gleason, Linc Hand, Dagney Kerr and Justin Marcel McManus.
Firstly, there’s just so many things David Charbonier and Justin Douglas Powell have put into Push that tick the right boxes for horror fans. You’ve got the extra vulnerability of the leading character being pregnant, you’ve got the excellent setting of a mansion that looks like it should be haunted and has secrets to be discovered, and you’ve got an indoor elevator that no horror fan in real life would use, because we know what happens. On top of that Charbonier and Powell hit those strongly ominous notes right out of the gate, the lingering shots, the score, the glances, it’s all there. On the face of it, it’s excellent but by the time you reach the credits, things have changed a fair bit.
That’s mostly because the foundation for Push is great and works very well but it never gets much further than that. The filmmakers get the tone right, the direction is strong to create a gripping atmosphere, and the textures and colours of the aesthetic are satisfying but very little actually happens. Even by the very end, it’s like we’ve only seen the beginning of this story, as if there’s some bigger backstory and layers that we’ve somehow missed. It’s a shame because there was rife potential to turn this into something complicated and decidedly creepy. Whereas, as it stands, it’s quite a simple game of cat and mouse, with a not particularly satisfying result.
What makes it even more of a shame is that casting Raúl Castillo in this disturbed, aggressive and predatory role was perfect. He had so much to bring to the table and could have made this into a genuinely twisted and violent affair but it feels like he’s held back. The other issue is that while Alicia Sanz gives a great performance, she isn’t given much of a personality to work with. The character feels bland, she’s still resilient and strong but there’s something missing, it’s quite generic frightened territory. Not to mention that the progression feels wonky, like it’s arriving at the finale too early, then adding a secondary one but neither really do it justice.
Push strikes such strongly ominous and tense notes, tapping right into beloved horror themes, that it’s all the more disappointing that it doesn’t have enough to offer. The setup is excellent, as is the casting and direction, but the story feels unfinished and underdeveloped. It’s as if you’re watching a few greatest hits from horror cinema, rather than creating something truly original. That doesn’t mean it has no value of its own, but it does mean it may struggle to hold your attention and may be forgotten fairly quickly.
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