Films So Good

Alarm is a 2008 Irish thriller film written and directed by Gerard Stembridge, best known for his work as a writer on “Ordinary Decent Criminal” (2000). It’s quite possible that the majority of people might not have heard about this movie. The truth is that I had to search extensively to find it, as I was eager to see two future movie stars, Ruth Bradley and Aidan Turner, in earlier roles.

Plot

Molly (Bradley), after a violent in-house incident that cost the life of her father, decides to move to the suburbs of Dublin to clear her mind and heal from the panic attacks. There, she will meet her school crush, Mal (Turner), and start a relationship with him. With a new house and a new boyfriend, things seem perfect. However, her house is soon burgled, not once but repeatedly, while her neighbors remain spared. Molly suspects that someone she knows might be involved. Can an alarm system help?

The movie begins with a mysterious atmosphere leaving the audience eager to uncover the reasons behind the unfolding events and the mastermind behind it all. However, the plot is weak and becomes even weaker and predictable as the story progresses. Furthermore, many scenes are set at night, which hampers the visibility of the action. The acting is decent, but the truth is that the actors seems to be “trapped”. To sum up, despite its flaws, I didn’t regret watching “Alarm” and I think it was a good step for the two actors in that point of their career.

Grade 51/100

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