Orphan (2009)

The tragic loss of their unborn child has devastated Kate and John, taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate’s fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her… The tragic loss of their unborn child has devastated Kate and John, taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate’s fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt another child. At the local orphanage, both John and Kate find themselves strangely drawn to a young girl named Esther. Almost as soon as they welcome Esther into their home, however, an alarming series of events begins to unfold, leading Kate to believe that there’s something wrong with Esther—this seemingly angelic little girl is not what she appears to be. Concerned for the safety of her family, Kate tries to get John and others to see past Esther’s sweet facade. But her warnings go unheeded until it may be too late…for everyone.

Obsessed (2009)

Hell hath no fury like an office temp scorned in director Stephen Shill’s domestic thriller OBSESSED. Executive-produced by entertainment megastar Beyonce Knowles, the film stars Knowles as Sharon,… Hell hath no fury like an office temp scorned in director Stephen Shill’s domestic thriller OBSESSED. Executive-produced by entertainment megastar Beyonce Knowles, the film stars Knowles as Sharon, a one-time temp who has become a dutiful wife to investment brokerage hot-shot Derek (Idris Elba of THE WIRE), as well as the mother to their son. Further temp-tation arrives in the form of Lisa (Ali Larter of HEROES), who sets her blonde ambitions on Derek from day one. Sharon is wary but Derek remains a model of marital fidelity in the face of Lisa’s repeated flirtations–inappropriate incidents that he avoids telling Sharon about. But when Derek rejects Lisa’s sexual advances at the company Christmas party, her downward spiral of romantic obsession leads her to pursue Derek on a corporate retreat and attempt suicide in his hotel room. Promptly sent into spousal exile, Derek must win back Sharon’s trust while the two attempt to put Lisa’s psychotic episode behind them. Lisa is one temp who’s not easily reassigned, though, and her increasingly brazen intrusions into Derek and Sharon’s life auger an inevitable reckoning between the would-be seducer and wife. First-time film director Shill gets a wonderfully wicked performance from Larter, while Knowles shows off her claws in the film’s climactic showdown. Taking its place alongside such films as FATAL ATTRACTION and DISCLOSURE, OBSESSED is a rollicking reminder that all’s fair in love and stalking.

Taken (2008)

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Liam Neeson is an unstoppable force in this adrenaline-fueled thriller from director Pierre Morel. Bryan (Neeson) has taken early retirement from the CIA in order to live closer to his teenage… Liam Neeson is an unstoppable force in this adrenaline-fueled thriller from director Pierre Morel. Bryan (Neeson) has taken early retirement from the CIA in order to live closer to his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Bryan’s government work kept him away from Kim for much of her childhood, and he’s now trying to make up for lost time. When Kim announces that she’s taking a trip to Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy), Bryan is apprehensive about her traveling on her own. His worst fear is soon realized, as Kim and Amanda are abducted upon their arrival in France. Bryan immediately springs into action, using his well-honed CIA skills to piece together clues from a single, frantic phone call he received from Kim. He hops a plane to Paris, determined to rescue his daughter before she falls off the grid completely. With some help from his old CIA buddies, he tracks down the kidnappers–an Albanian crime ring known for selling young girls into the sex trade. He quickly takes matters into his own hands, plowing his way through Paris’s underworld as the clock ticks down and the bullets fly. His search propels him into the upper echelons of a massive crime ring, putting him closer and closer to his beloved daughter. Neeson is known for tackling extremely cerebral roles, so it is interesting to see him in full-on action-hero mode. In TAKEN he is no less than a crime-fighting machine–a Bourne/Bond hybrid with a deathly serious baritone. And while he spends most of the film firing Uzis and snapping necks, he still manages to deliver a moving performance as an estranged father fighting for what he loves most in the world. The film undeniably owes a lot to Neeson’s acting chops. He manages to raise this rather thinly plotted, deeply violent film a bar above your typical action fare.

Friday the 13th (2009)

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After making a bloody splash with his redo of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, director Marcus Nispel tackles another beloved horror franchise with FRIDAY THE 13TH. SUPERNATURAL’s Jared Padalecki,… After making a bloody splash with his redo of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, director Marcus Nispel tackles another beloved horror franchise with FRIDAY THE 13TH. SUPERNATURAL’s Jared Padalecki, DISTURBIA’s Aaron Yoo, and CLOVERFIELD’s Odette Yustman star in this remake that finds camp counselors being picked off one by one. FREDDY VS. JASON screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift provide the script, while Michael Bay serves as one of the film’s producers.

Dorothy Mills (2008)

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Jane Morton, a psychiatrist from Dublin in deep mourning following the accidental death of her husband and son, is assigned to work on the case of Dorothy Mills, a teenaged girl in a small village who tried to strangle a baby. After miraculously surviving a car accident, Jane discovers a village darkened by strange events and meets a very nervous Dorothy, who swears she never touched the baby. After analyzing the teenager, Jane makes a diagnosis of multiple personality disorder until the day that Dorothy speaks with the voice of David, Jane’s dead son.