100 Feet

Introduction

100 Feet has an incredibly simple premise: A woman released from prison to house arrest for killing her abusive husband in self defence is terrorised by his ghost.

The title refers to the distance Marnie (Famke Janssen) can move away from the hub before the ankle bracelet beeps and she has three minutes to get back within range or the police will be notified. Compounding her misery, her husband was a cop and his ex-partner Shanks (Bobby Cannavale), who didn't believe her allegations of assault, is in charge of her case, living in his car and spying on her.

Marnie befriends a local delivery boy and asks him to get her some library books on ghosts. Researching how to get rid of an unwanted spirit, she gathers her ex-husband's belongings, asks him to leave and cleanses the house, but it quickly becomes clear that he is not going without a fight.

Video

A very clear transfer, even in the many low-light scenes, with a suitably muted palette. The ghost effects range from extremely effective to a bit hokey and it's a case of 'less is more' as the sudden bursts are infinitely scarier than when he is on screen for a sustained period.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is excellent, with clear dialogue and well executed jumps, which make good use of the surrounds. The atmosphere and tension are palpable, complementing the video well. The stereo option is less effective, but reasonable.

Extra Features

Just the trailer, which is a shame.

Conclusion

Haunted house films are almost as old as the horror genre, so putting a new spin in order to create a film that feels fresh and has the ability to scare is hard to do. Eric Red, who co-wrote the brilliant Near Dark, partly manages to do this, though there are some plot points that had me shaking my head at the sheer implausibility. I know it's a ghost story so there's a degree of suspension of disbelief necessary, but no one's house arrest would be supervised by a cop who is emotionally involved in the case and I don't believe that a woman would continue to wear the wedding ring of a man who beat her until she killed him in self defence.

Famke Janssen (Jean Grey from the X-Men movies) is superb in this, with a powerful performance conveying all the vulnerability, anger and determination that the character requires. Bobby Cannavale is suitably hateable as the cop who is on her case from the start.

Some quibbles aside, 100 Feet is a perfectly watchable horror film, good for a Saturday night in, but it's just a shame that the package is so threadbare.