Genres

Visitors Review

jamalhugo 2012-05-20 05:45:46

"Kim Basinger was Amazing" What!?

Overall this movie is dreadful, and should have never been made. One ofthe problems with this movie is that there is no link to the audienceand the characters, for example, if she is about to be attacked, youwant to feel, "Oh My God, No!", but you don't in this case, you don'tcare because there is no link that has been made to know the character.In the trailer, it seemed as though the movie would be great, yet thereis no suspense what so ever really. There could have been maybe somemystery but there is not. "All she has is a toolbox." was said on theDVD's back, you would think that it was carefully planned this movie,and cleverly made, but it is not, The ending, was just awful, verystraight forward, and pointless too. The acting is either average orbelow average, maybe even lower. In my opinion it was a waste of anhour of my life. The "Special Effects" and sets were average too,nothing special what so ever. There is not much gore, or bloodyviolence, not much blood is shown. This movie was advertised to make itsound quite amazing, yet really, its not even worth looking for, I donot recommend this to anyone, unless they are easily satisfied, by afew fights and a boring story.

2012-05-19 19:14:02

Great movie!!

Wow, I just watched "While She Was Out" - awesome slasher film! I'm definitely going to pick up the DVD for my collection. You should really check it out!

2012-05-14 23:48:59

Luke Haas, Kim Basinger, and a Tool Box!

I was one of the few whom were lucky enough to catch this film when it was in theatres and to the credit of the filmmakers and writer (Susan Montford of SHOOT'EM UP) WHILE SHE WAS OUT was about as an intense of a film I could possibly even imagine... my hands still hurt from gripping the chair I was in. Add to that the acting chops of Kim Basinger and Luke Haas and you have a movie I am HIGHLY anticipating on DVD!From my mouth (keyboard) to your ears (monitors) give this little thriller film a chance and you will be pleasantly surprised!

2012-05-14 23:03:11

Formulaic Nonsense, But the Actors Try

Although "While She Was Out" boasts an original twist or two, you've basically seen it many, many times before. It's the one about the passive woman facing a threat so monstrous that she reaches down into her core and finds a transformative strength and rage she never knew she possessed. Think Jennifer Lopez in "Enough", Olivia de Havilland in "Lady in a Cage", Nicole Kidman in "Dead Calm", Debbie Reynolds in "Singin' in the Rain". (Just kidding on that last one.) This time, Kim Basinger is the lady. An abused wife and mother, she goes to the mall on Christmas Eve, and leaves a note on a car taking up two spaces in a crowded lot. Predictably, the car belongs to a gang of four psychopathic toughs who kill the mall cop that comes to her rescue. She manages to escape in her vehicle, but wrecks it in a new property development surrounded by woods, and flees into the forest with her trusty tool box, the murderous gang hot on her heels.All this might be kind of silly fun, except the screenplay asks the audience to stretch belief beyond the breaking point. Despite the enormity of the forest at night, the gang tracks her down by (no, I'm not making this up) picking up the lingering scent of her perfume and sweat in the air, by tracking little droplets of her blood, by shining their flashlight in just the right spot while she's standing in the open. Of course, she helps them out by whimpering and thrashing through the forest with as much noise as possible. Plus, she stands in the middle of a shallow stream and screams at the top of her lungs, "God! Where are you God?!!" ... hardly a smart thing to do if you're trying to avoid detection.That the movie is even watchable is attributable to a fairly engaging performance by Kim Basinger as the lady in distress (she also co-produced) and a valiant effort by Lukas Haas as the leader of the gang. Haas has some of the worst dialogue ever written, and he almost ... almost ... manages to make it sound credible. There is also a wonderful payoff in the final shot of the film, and so it ends on an intriguing note. Unfortunately, these credits don't nearly begin to make up for the film's obvious detriments, and so I can't recommend a purchase. Rent it if you're a Basinger or Haas fan; otherwise, you might want to skip this one altogether.

Cooper75 2012-05-12 16:24:18

A decent little thriller with a fine performance from Basinger.

While returning from a Christmas Eve shopping trip, an abused suburbanhousewife (Basinger) finds herself in a fight for survival after adisagreement with a group of delinquent youths takes a violent turn.Suffering the indignity of a straight to DVD release here in the U.K.,Susan Montford's directorial debut will perhaps not be given therecognition it deserves. This is a shame, as the standard of thewriting, directing and acting is very good indeed, and certainlysurpasses the quality of your average straight to DVD flick.Kim Basinger gives her best performance in some time as the downtroddenwife of an abusive husband (Craig Sheffer). While Sheffer is not reallygiven anything more to do than be a threatening presence, it is intheir brief scenes together that Basinger connects - showing painfulvulnerability yet hinting at the rage that will eventually boil over inher confrontations with the youths. It's a truly great, understatedperformance, her transformation from victim to aggressor is seamlesslyplayed.Lukas Haas I initially thought was miscast, as he (along with the otherthree youths) just did not seem much of a threat. However, had all fouryouths been more physically imposing, the later scenes in whichBasinger turns the tables against them would not have worked at all.The fact that these are four average men, albeit slightly unhinged, isthe key to why the film works as well as it does.Apart from a few pacing issues during the latter half of the movie anda couple of cheesy lines here and there, what we have here is a greatthriller that actually leaves the viewer with something to think aboutwhen the film is over. Some may be put off by the slow - burn nature ofthe opening scenes, or the abrupt ending. Others by the at times brutalviolence. I say give it a chance, it's certainly more deserving of yourtime than Saw V.

robert 2012-05-12 07:19:02

At least it was free

Not much of a plot, she makes some gang members mad and they follow pursuit. She's a bad actress. We were yellin at the screen most the time telling her to RUN. I hate movies like this where the victim is an idiot. She was such a moron, she had plenty of chances to get away from the gang members. She'd run then she just stop and look back or hide and they catch up with her. This goes on and on. At least it was free, i got a promotion at the redbox.

tobannintlpics 2012-05-11 13:37:11

The Ultimate Chick flick

When I went to see this film, I was expecting to see just a "thriller",but as others who have commented here, the typical "logic" or "formula"for scaring the daylights out of teenagers was missing. So I was thenforced to open my eyes and actually see what this first time "girl"director was trying to accomplish. Then, everything made, not onlysense, even the "no sense" made sense. Apparently, instead of playingthe typical movie making game, she decided "screw um", I'll play mygame. If you are a typical insecure male, don't waste your time here.This movie is simply the most important "chick flick" to have been madein a very long time. The "toolbox", a MAN'S thing, begins "her"transformation and its not the "thugs" she's really after, they're justfor practice. When I first saw A Clockwork Orange in the early 70's, Ithought, what kind of junk is this? Now I understand, but here Munfordhas taken Kubrick's "thinking with the little head vs reality" to awhole new level. Like clockwork, but this time for the 21st Century, anentirely new kind of anti-hero is invented, a female with real ballsand a big head. It's doubtful that this little gem will make muchmoney, (Spielberg's "duel" made almost NO sense and went straight toTV) but Munford is now the foremost director to keep an eye on. One ortwo more films and she will be able to get "anyone" she wants to workwith her.

chucknorrisfacts 2012-05-11 02:40:59

Not bad, but not great.

I discovered "While She Was Out" on Netflix. I was in the mood for asuspenseful movie and overall I'd say I was pretty satisfied with thefilm.It's not a film without its flaws, but it's still entertainingnonetheless. How realistic the movie is, is another matter entirely.Would a real suburban housewife really be able to defend herselfagainst a crazed gang of thugs? Probably not. But it wouldn't be muchof a movie if she were killed right off the bat, would it? What I like about a movie such as this is that it shows how somethingseemingly so trivial as leaving a note on someone's car for taking uptwo parking spaces can turn into a disaster. People don't think aboutthe consequences of their behavior a lot of the time, and this moviegoes to show what could happen. It's important to see that, I think.The darker side of reality. A lot of people don't want to acknowledgeit, but it's there.I was a little disappointed with the ending, though. They left itambiguous, which I understand is so you can decide for yourself whathappens next, but that's kind of irritating to me. Sometimes it works,like in "The Thing" but most of the time it feels like the writers arejust trying to cop out of showing what really happened next. They don'twant to offend anyone, so they leave it open-ended. That's kind oflame, if you ask me.I would say that it's still worth checking out, there are many scenesthat will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also know that themovie isn't entirely realistic either. If you can't look past that,you're probably not going to be able to enjoy watching this.

2012-05-06 05:34:54

Female Rambo by chance

Whether or not housewife Della (Kim Basinger) knows it, she's got some good, unconscious natural instincts to take out offending attackers. This movie shows how one female victim instinctively takes out 4 punks and her rude husband. Della goes out of her house at night to get some fresh air from her rude husband during Christmas and decides to go late-night shopping. The parking lot was full and brimming with people. She drives around, spots a sleek car taking up 2 spaces and decides to write a note to the owner saying something to the effect of: "You're taking up 2 spaces. How selfish of you." If one were ponder over whether all her troubles could have been prevented, this may have begun from her urge to slip that friendly note on that car. Of course, she couldn't have known what would await her.* Men generally don't like to be told what to do. Worse thing is that the glancing profile of that empty car could signal to any woman that generally aggressive males who like to show off could be the owner. Was Della looking for trouble by voicing off her frustration? Why did she park her car so close to the offending car? Why did leave the shopping mall at a time when everyone has left, there were few other cars left in the parking lot? Why did she get out of her car even when she was blocked from behind by the threatening car with 4 punks in it? She couldn't have known what was coming, could she? Whatever it was, Della has hard luck that night, but God and Della's own sheer guts saw to it that she made it home in one piece.How she took out those 4 scumbags wasn't gory enough! They deserve much worse for being such evil bullies! To be continued....Recommended:Rambo - The Complete Collector's Set (First Blood - Ultimate Edition / Rambo - First Blood Part II - Ultimate Edition / Rambo III - Ultimate Edition / John Rambo - Special Edition)Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex

2012-05-05 17:10:10

The Strength of the Human Spirit

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Della is a abused suburban whose life revolves around her two children. Goes to the mall one rainy night to do some last minute Christmas shopping. On the way to her car she is accousted by 4 thugs and she witnesses the killing of the mall cop trying to rescue her from the thugs. Della flees and the 4 thugs follow to a half built housing develoment. Della is only armed with a red tool box trying to save herself from 4 thugs with a gun. I don't like her odds! This is about her will to survive and must depend on her wits, luck and what is in the red tool box. If you like a suspense thriller than give this a try. It is intense at times but not like a Stephen King thriller! The movie is only 86 minutes long so it doesn't drag on!

pmdawn 2012-05-02 07:31:34

The Magic Toolbox

This is what you need to know about this movie, besides the fact that Irecommend it as solid thriller: Kim Basinger, suburban mother of 2,lives with abusive husband. On Xmas she decides to go buy some stuff atthe mall and while she's out, a series of bad things happen - gettingher into serious trouble.I wouldn't read more before watching the movie. Not because there areany great twists, but because it's worth watching without any, evenminor, spoilers. It's also filled with irony - sometimes it reminded meof Predator and Home Alone - being a horror movie only in the sense ofthe cat-and-mouse game hunt.In a role that's surprisingly physical, Kim Basinger does a good job asthe protagonist. I can't help but remember what Kim went through withher marriage problems and all, and somehow connect this movie as acatharsis of sorts for her."While She Was Out" might not be very well-known, but it should, in myopinion. It's a refreshing take on a genre that's been tirelesslyexplored, and most important of all, fun.6/10

2012-05-01 11:12:42

While She Was Out is a movie about how necessity can provide one with strength

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) While She Was Out is a movie about how necessity can provide one with strength. Della (Kim Basinger) is a normal mom with two kids. She is on the timid side in her marriage, with a husband that is abusive and controlling. When Della goes for some last minute Christmas shopping, she ends up getting four thugs mad at her. From there, a stressful game of cat and mouse begins that will keep you nervous for the rest of the film. As you can image, for a woman to be chased down by four young guys that are determined to harm her would be frightening enough for anyone. But the odds do not deter Della who just wants to get home and be with her kids. It becomes a battle between self-preservation and hunters on the chase.Once the thugs begin to chase Della, she aggravates us a little because she seems to be trying to get away at a snail's pace but this only makes it more suspenseful. After evading the thugs from the mall, she ends up crashing her vehicle in a new home development surrounded by dense woods, escaping only with a toolbox. Of course the thugs don't give up easy and chase her. Although Della looks a little silly running away carrying this little red toolbox there is nothing funny in the way she uses it to defend herself. Although Della is mostly timid, once she is aggravated the banshee in her comes out. While She Was Out is good film to watch if you want to raise your blood pressure, as good thrillers are supposed to do. The movie shows us just how true the expression "there is nothing more vicious than a mother that wants to defend her kids" really is. If you like thrillers or are a fan of Kim Basinger, it might be worth checking this one out.

2012-04-26 07:39:42

not too great

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This movie dragged and don't really understand what the plot was supposed to be. Basically Kim B. was an disrespected wife, who uses a bad situation to kind of flip out. Back to the disrecptected wife thing. Her husband is a total piece of crap, but I can't help but to side with him on various things. She's a stay at home mom, and the husband gets really pissed off when he gets home and there is kid crap ALL OVER the house and yard. I mean their crap is just about literally everywhere. He goes crazy and starts attacking her (verbally) for it, but I have to say I can't help but to take his side on that, but I digress. I guess we are supposed to feel bad for her, b/c everyone takes advantage of her. four dumb, predictable teens are trying to kill her for some reason that doesn't matter. She doesn't have a cell phone for some reason, but who cares anyway. I really don't know how anyone could get into this movie, it is just so boring. Too little happens and the stuff that does is just so uneventful. The violence/action is just silly and simple-minded. that's all there is to this movie and it is, again, just boring. Another thing that annoys me is the the fact that she has a retractable tire iron in a tool box. First things first, i don't even think that there is such a thing (maybe NASA uses it to fix space tires but that's about it), but second why would it even be in a tool box? The ending was just... I don't even know what it was. Don't try to make up for an insanely boring movie with a crazy twist like that. It just doesn't fit. It would be like growing an arboretum in front of a trailer home. I'm all for just silly or non-serious horror movies (like feast 1), but this was just lame.

sddavis63 2012-04-25 19:28:37

I Rather Liked It

To be sure there's nothing particularly original in this. It's a fairlystandard chase movie as a woman is chased through the night by a gangof thugs out to kill her in revenge for her having left a nasty note ontheir car when they double parked in a busy parking lot on ChristmasEve. So, yeah, it's a variation on a pretty standard theme. There areno real "surprises." You know the woman is going to survive somehow,and in all honesty I thought there was a fair bit of tension andsuspense through the whole thing. It's a bit unbelievable, sure - butthat's the nature of this kind of movie. Unoriginal, yeah - but anyonewho reads the description of the movie going in has to know it's goingto be unoriginal so don't watch it if you want something brand spankingnew. I liked the basic story from the point at which Della began to bepursued to the point at which she escaped. I thought it was well done.The movie was helped by having a better than usual lead. Kim Basingerplayed Della and did well with the part. So many of these moviesfeature a complete cast that you've never seen before and that you'llnever see again that it's kind of nice to see a familiar face.Ironically, perhaps the weakest part of the movie was also Della,though - not Basinger's performance but the character's background.From the opening scenes of the movie Della is portrayed as a victim ofan abusive husband, apparently trapped in this unhappy marriage. Thatreally served little purpose and had few connecting points to theremainder of the movie except to allow for a "shocker" in the very lastscene, which, again, wasn't necessary to the story. Go into this with your eyes wide open. If you like this type of moviethen this is certainly on par with (and maybe even a bit better than)most "chase" movies you'll come across. But if you're looking fororiginality, forget it. It all depends what you're expecting from it.Personally, I rather liked it. (7/10)

2012-04-25 10:40:27

Wow - Horrible !

This review is from: While She Was Out [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) When I saw the price of $6.99 for a blu-ray movie I thought how bad could it be? Well I found out. Everything about this movie was terrible! Save your money for a burger or something.

2012-04-24 14:21:05

Kim Basinger is Back!!

Just got my hands a screener for this film and let me just say this; you need to see this movie! Kim Basinger reminded me of why she is one of the best actresses of the last 20 years. I would recommend this movie to anyway who enjoys an on the edge of your seat thriller where a women takes her life into her own hands. Some of the kill scenes are some of the best I have seen in a while, including one where Kim Basinger kills one of the thugs using a tire iron. I can't wait to get my hands on the actually DVD of this film and I suggest you check it out as well.

toto24522 2012-04-21 23:24:10

Comical/Spoiler

Suburban slob housewife Kim Bassinger's character appears to bemedicated on either Valium or Xanax. She can't seem to grasp why herhusband is so ticked after he enters their shizzle dwelling, whileblaming her totally messy house on the fact they have children.Yeah....pop another pill, soccer mama. How about instead trying someparental discipline such as "Pick up after yourselves, kids." then takeyour own advice. No wonder your husband is in a foul mood when he comeshome to that shizzle storm. And what's with leaving the children'ssnack on the stair step as if they're in some form of prison?She leaves her house on an errand and suddenly notices the star atoptheir outdoor Christmas tree is on the ground - a small oversightcompared to the disaster strewn about the inside of their house. Thenwithout seeming to be able to keep her eyes on the road, what with hercigarettes, cell phone conversations, etc., she drives to the mallbecause she's out of wrapping paper - what's wrong with driving to thenearest drug store? She acts all indignant that the mall parking lot is overflowing, andgets irritated when a random 1980's pimp-mobile takes up two parkingspots. How does she know that the driver had no choice due to themanner in which the cars on either side were parked prior? Yeah, thatnote she left on their windshield oughta teach those "selfish jerks" abig lesson!Later, the overcrowded parking lot is suddenly void of traffic andshoppers when a gun shot goes off - perhaps in a perfect world but notin this scenario. And what's up with the red tool box?Too many oversights to make this movie have any semblance of reality.Sorry Kim Bassinger, this movie is a total zero.

2012-04-21 10:56:11

A total waste of time

EDITED: Someone I respect greatly recommended this film. No more film recommendations from this person. The credits go on entirely too long, in part because there are 20 or so executive producers, Kim Basinger and Guillermo Del Toro included. Del Toro's B-movie Mimic was great, but whoever recommended this Z-grade dog to him to produce should be fired (I mistakenly thought the lousy actor Benicio Del Toro produced this garbage--thanks to the person who posted the correction!). I've since learned this was adapted from a short story, meaning the screenwriter had even less work to do to come up with a hopeless mess of cinematic tripe than I first thought. Basinger plays a beaten-down housewife to an abusive husband (Sheffer), who ticks off a local gang (of four--a popular bunch) in a mall parking lot. After they murder the security guard who attempts to help her, they chase her in order to rape and murder her. Thus begins a formulaic and unrealistic chase and "perpetual victim realizes her power" story. Other than the methods she uses to kill the punks, everything is predictable, including the ending. Even with all that, there are some idiotic things that still nagged at me:1) Basinger's character uses items from her car's toolbox to kill the punks. Despite taking more and more things from it, it almost never rattles and gives away her position (it actually rattled worse when full). Her gasping, freezing in place, shrieking, and urinating in the wide open do more to give her away.2) The movie's set on Christmas Eve, but during most of the forest sequences, nobody's breath steams. 3) This movie contains a double cliche: the too-intelligent multiracial gang. The gang is PC to the nth degree with one Caucasian, one African-American (-Canadian?), one Hispanic, and one Vietnamese. Gangs form out of common factors, race being the most obvious--can we please have a realistic bunch of punks on film? They also don't use words like "incendiary" or look wistful when talking about "seeing the ocean just once."If you want to see a good crime story with Lukas Haas, either get "Witness" or "Brick."

2012-04-21 09:47:30

don't even waste your time

I like Kim Basinger, but this movie? I'm sorry. The story doesn't really make sense, the message are totally wrong and dark. The acting is so so.... the thriller is even lamer than you could imagine. It's so predictable and what's the point of this movie again? thriller? moral message? I can't find anything interesting in this movie (which I kept hoping that it will come soon ). I fast forward 2x most of the film because it's way too slow just to tell this story. Don't even bother wasting your time and money to try watching or even renting it.

tucson_proz520 2012-04-21 05:03:46

Kim Bassinger in full throttle mode!

This was a good movie. I was not expecting much and then when Kim starts kicking ass and taking names this film got my full attention. A must see and you will be pleasantly suprised.Cheers!