Review: The Factory

Cops John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter spend Thanksgiving tracking someone responsible for a series of disappearing prostitutes in the area. A serial killer is suspected, but no bodies have actually been found. It turns out that the culprit is creepy hospital cook Dallas Roberts, and Cusack’s own teenage daughter Mae Whitman may become his next victim (some of whom he kills, I might add) after sneaking out at night. Gary Anthony Williams is the hospital worker Roberts gets medical supplies from, whilst Katherine Waterston is another victim, and an especially young-looking Ksenia Solo another potential victim.

Produced by Joel Silver through Dark Castle, filmed in 2008 and originally intended for a U.S. theatrical release, this serial kidnapper flick from Aussie co-writer/director Morgan O’Neill (“Solo” with Colin Friels, the script for which won TV’s “Project Greenlight: Australia”) and co-writer/fellow Aussie Paul A. Leyden (better known as a TV actor in Australia and the U.S.) met some resistance, it would appear. It was only released in 2012, direct-to-DVD, and the reviews have absolutely, positively not been kind at all. I have a confession to make: I’m the one person willing to go to bat for it. Strike me down, but I actually liked this film, and although I should’ve seen the conclusion coming especially early, it completely passed me by and floored me. I was probably too busy enjoying the story to really pay attention to specific red flags or anything (and indeed there are red flags very early on). Still, I enjoyed the film and I think it deserves a look.

I know he has to pay the bills, but I’m still surprised a guy as popular with audiences and critics like John Cusack has had such a long stay in the direct-to-DVD market. Given how long this thing has been in the can, you could argue it was one of his first. It certainly plays that way because he gives one of his best performances in such films by a country mile. The role allows him a fairly good opportunity to show his stuff, playing the anger and personal investment the character has in solving the case for all it’s worth. If given to someone like Nic Cage, Cage would crank it up to 11 from moment one, but Cusack modulates his performance nicely. He’s relatable and seems a bit more committed than in other films of late (even more prestige films like “Love & Mercy” where he was fatally miscast and woefully lazy), providing a perfectly fine anchor. He also looks a lot healthier than I’ve seen him since. I loved Jennifer Carpenter’s work as foul-mouthed but loyal sister Debra on TV’s “Dexter”, and think she’s an incredibly underrated actress. Playing Cusack’s partner, she’s got what appears to be a much lesser role, but she’s absolutely terrific in it. For me though, this is Dallas Roberts’ film and he owns it from his first moment until his last. No stranger to playing creeps and villains, he’s perfectly at home with this sociopathic kidnapper (There’s something a little Bill Paxton in “Frailty”-ish about him, and it’s not that they’re both Texans). He’s no criminal mastermind and makes a mistake or two, but that’s no fault of the film. Meanwhile, I found it fascinating that he’s got these other girls so well-trained and Stockholm Syndrome-ish that they’ll turn on Mae Whitman’s character on a dime.

Capped off by a good and bleak ending (if perhaps not the most logical), this very loosely ‘inspired by real events’ crime flick has terrific performances and is a more than decent, if not great flick. I think it deserved a much better fate, to be honest. I feel genuinely sorry for O’Neill that his first Hollywood film was stalled for so long before release and bypassing cinemas altogether. It’s solid stuff. Definitely worth seeing if, like me, you’re into this kind of film. Rather than listen to me or any of the nay-sayers for that matter, see the film and judge for yourself.

Rating: B-