Survive The Night (Cert 15, 89 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Thriller/Romance, available from July 20 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other services, available from July 27 on DVD £15.99)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Chad Michael Murray, Shea Buckner, Tyler Jon Olson, Lydia Hull, Jessica Abrams.
UPSTANDING medic Rich (Chad Michael Murray) is sued by relatives of a patient following an ill-judged procedure and he faces bankruptcy. Accompanied by his despairing wife Jan (Lydia Hull) and daughter Riley (Riley Wolfe Rach), he transplants the family to his parents' home to start afresh at a local clinic.
Rich weathers criticism from his father Frank (Bruce Willis), a retired sheriff, but thankfully his mother Rachel (Jessica Abrams) is more sympathetic to his plight.
Late one night after a shift at the clinic, Rich returns home, unaware he is being followed by larcenous brothers Jamie (Shea Buckner) and Matthias (Tyler Jon Olson). They break into the house and hold the family hostage to compel Rich to perform emergency surgery on a bullet wound.
"No killing," Matthias firmly tells his agitated, trigger-happy sibling. Then gun shots ring out.
Survive The Night is a lumbering home invasion thriller, which reunites director Matt Eskandari with leading man Bruce Willis following last year's equally ho-hum Trauma Center.
Character development is perfunctory and the behaviour of family members under duress strains credibility. Murray and Willis compete to see who can growl loudest, while Buckner imbues his desperate criminal with emotional depth.
Scriptwriter Doug Wolfe generates fleeting suspense. A superfluous car chase across fields full of grazing cattle pads out the resolution but never accelerates through first gear.
Rating: 5/10
:: Come As You Are (Cert 15, 103 mins, Studio Soho Distribution, Comedy/Drama/Romance, available from July 17 via Premium Video On Demand rental on Amazon Prime Video/Google Play/iTunes/TalkTalk TV Store/Virgin Media, available from August 17 on DVD £19.99)
ADAPTED by screenwriter Erik Linthorst from the 2011 Belgian film Hasta La Vista, Come As You Are is a warm-hearted comedy drama directed by Richard Wong, which embarks on a road trip with three men who are keen to take advantage of a very special establishment across the border in Montreal.
Scotty (Grant Rosenmeyer) is a paraplegic, who channels his resentment towards his protective mother Liz (Janeane Garofalo). He attends a clinic for physical therapy and takes an immediate dislike to new arrival Matt (Hayden Szeto), a handsome former athlete who requires a wheelchair.
This rivalry sparks an unlikely friendship when virgin Scotty learns about a brothel in Canada which specialises in catering to clientele with disabilities.
The duo convince mild-mannered blind clinic worker Mo (Ravi Patel) to join the hush-hush expedition and hires no-nonsense nurse Sam (Gabourey Sidibie) to drive them.
