100 Feet (2008)

When you think horror, you think frightening situations, you think being scared, you think about whatever you can do to remove yourself from that situation so you, eventually, won’t be afraid anymore. Imagine not being able to remove yourself, not being to run away. Imagine having to go to sleep and wake up in the same nightmare everyday and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it; unless of course you want to go to prison.

This is Famke Janssen’s dilemma as Marnie Watson in the 2008 horror film 100 Feet. Marnie has just been allowed to return home after serving part of her jail sentence for murdering her abusive husband, Mike (Michael Pare), who was a NYC police officer. She’s not completely free however; she has to finish out her sentence under house arrest. She’s escorted back to her home and kept under a very close
 watch by Mike’s ex-partner, Detective Shanks (Bobby Cannavale). She tries to slowly rebuild her life all by her lonesome despite being unable to venture farther than 100 feet from her home. She seems to be doing alright until she realizes that she isn’t exactly alone. She is being haunted by her husband’s ghost which seems to be just as abusive and unforgiving as when he was alive. She decides to try to rid herself of him by throwing away all of his possessions including a garbage bag of dirty money she finds under her bedroom floor. The battle between them escalates as she finds a love interest in a younger man, which of course her husband doesn’t appreciate.

The acting in this one was decent at best. I loved Janssen’s New York accent, not everyone can pull off a good NY accent but she does it pretty well. She even looks like she was born and raised in New York City by her character’s attitude and presence. There aren’t many actual actors in this movie as it only takes place in Marnie’s home from beginning to end. Bobby Cannavale is pretty good as a cop but doesn’t have much screen time so there wasn’t much to go off of.

Though the only real visual effects consisted of Mike Watson’s ghost, I was honestly impressed by some of the scenes that used them. The first time the ghost is shown to Marnie and the audience is a pretty startling one. I actually jumped a little after anticipating its arrival for about twenty minutes into the movie. I usually don’t scare easily but Janssen’s terrifying reaction to seeing her husband’s apparition for the first time was quite priceless. A very realistic scream, not your usual horror movie scream queen yell, including an unexpected tumble down the stairs was very well done. The other effects contained in the film included furniture moving around and the complete pummeling of one of Marnie’s friends by Mike’s ghost that I was not expecting but surprised to see how well done it was.

Directed and written by Eric Red, 100 Feet does an ok job of blending a new aspect of real life with paranormal happenings. The film drags at some points as many films that focus on just one character seem to do but it has aspects of it that recaptures your attention. If you are looking for a horror classic, you will be disappointed but if you just want a mild scare that might or might not keep you up at night, you should check this one out. I give 100 Feet “2 probation ankle bracelets out of 5”.

-“What were you and your little friend doing all night?”
-“Screwing each other’s brains out”
-“In your husband’s house?”
-“In his bed”