So let me start off by saying I had never heard of “The Trigger Effect” before I started watching it to review it. You all know me, I try my best to know as much about all kinds of movies as possible but some movies just slip through the cracks. “The Trigger Effect” is a movie that just never ended up on my radar which is weird because I like the cast of the movie. Thanks to the kind people at Mill Creek Entertainment, I was able to watch the film so I can give you my take. Now, I do want to say that regardless if I give the film a positive or negative review, I love the fact that Mill Creek Entertainment releases these somewhat obscure titles that the major studios have largely overlooked (sometimes even on DVD).
The film focuses on a couple with a baby who are obviously having some marriage issues. After a fairly disappointing ‘date night’ between the pair seems to do nothing to smooth over their strained relationship, the power goes out. With no power and no communication through phones, society begins to seemingly crumble as people will do anything to survive.
Okay, let me start off by saying that I really did not like this movie and there are several reasons why. The cast was pretty solid and even though I didn’t like the movie, they did the best they could. Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney, and Michael Rooker help add a splash of charisma to a film lacking otherwise.
The main premise of the movie focusing on the anarchy that is caused by a power outage reminded me a lot of the classic episode of “The Twilight Zone” titled “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”. That episode is engraved in my head because not only had I watched “The Twilight Zone” as a kid, but we had to read the script for that when I was in school during one of my many English classes. As I was doing research for this film, it turns out that the script intentionally lifted elements from that story and it wasn’t a coincidence.
Unfortunately, unlike the classic “The Twilight Zone” episode, this film doesn’t work. They are both highly unrealistic, however the general concept of the show “The Twilight Zone” expected the audience to suspend their disbelief because each episode tended to be a metaphor for a social or moral issue. “The Trigger Effect” sets itself up as a film set up in the real world. It is hard to imagine the world falling apart so fast and descending into anarchy even in a pre-internet and smart phone world. I mean, this was only a few years ago, but I remember most of the town I lived in was without power for around a week during a biter cold Michigan winter. If civil discourse didn’t erupt over that, it’s hard to imagine the events of “The Trigger Effect” would ever happen.
Even if you look at the movie and manage to suspend disbelief, that isn’t even the biggest problem with the script. I wanted to see this movie largely because it was written and directed by David Koepp. Koepp is typically a solid writer and has written some of my favorite films including “Jurassic Park” and “Spider-Man”. The biggest problem with the film is that it breaks one of the cardinal rules of cinema, and as a result, not a single character in the film is likable. You need to have at least one character that the audience can see themselves as, someone they can connect with and invest in. The main characters in this film are either crazy, cheaters, or just plain stupid. The stupidity of the characters was a bit surprising too because the dumb decisions they make is what causes most of the conflicts in the film. If the characters being unlikable didn’t already damn this movie, the film also spent too much time focusing on the main couple’s strained relationship.
“The Trigger Effect” wasn’t quite as bad as “How It Ends” but that is mainly due to the solid cast it had. Many of the trappings that failed “How It Ends” also failed “The Trigger Effect”. It pains me to say I hate a David Koepp film so I will just say this, “The Trigger Effect” is definitely my least favorite Koepp film I have seen to date. I expected more from him.
Grade: D-
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