A good old scary ghost story!

This weekend I had the very cool opportunity to attend a screening of "100 Feet" directed by Eric Red, starring the talented and fascinating Famke Janssen, Michael Paré, Bobby Cannavale, and Ed Westwick.

This movie was filmed in the finest tradition of scaring the spit out of everyone around a campfire. It was full of surprises. It made me jump, made my skin crawl, and at times, forced me to remember to breathe!

Eric Red's direction was brilliant. I truly did not know what was going to happen next at any given moment, and was delightfully surprised. One scene where the ghost gets his revenge on the delivery boy was too much for me to watch. I thought it was over the top until I heard Eric Red's take on it during the Q and A. He said, "Come on, the guy slept with his wife!" I looked over at my husband who was laughing and nodding his head, and then I had to laugh as well.

Michael Paré was absolutely terrifying as the ghost bent on revenge. I get the feeling he had fun being such a scary, menacing character. I wish there had been more scenes where we could actually see his face, but then having the man himself sitting in the audience behind me eased the pain.

Famke Janssen was terrific in what must have been an overwhelming task. She carried every scene, never allowing us to lose the momentum of the story. Her riveting performance as Marnie, the wife who had been convicted of killing her husband when she finally defended herself after years of abuse, made us feel her anger at him for destroying both of their lives, and her fear of the ghostly manifestation of his rage. She was in a fight for her life. She had to use her wits and find the strength to finally end the fight.

Bobby Cannavale was excellent as the former partner of the dead husband who believed Marnie had committed premeditated murder and should not have been allowed to serve the rest of her sentence via house arrest. We hate and love this character because in the end, his true nature is revealed. Ed Westwick is adorable and enticing as the younger man with more on his mind than tips for delivering groceries.

"100 FEET" deserves a theatrical release, and I can't wait to be first in line to see it again.

I had the opportunity to briefly chat with both Michael Paré and Eric Red. They were very gracious and charming. I hope to get interviews with both of them for the Forum!


by Sandy Mouat, Managing Editor