THE STORY – When a violent attack at her open house sends her into premature labor, a pregnant realtor must find a way to escape before she gives birth.
THE CAST – Alicia Sanz, Raúl Castillo, David Alexander Flinn & Gore Abrams
THE TEAM – David Charbonier & Justin Douglas Powell (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 89 Minutes
Some terrors feel so innately familiar to us that there is hardly a reason needed to explain why they haunt our minds so much. A large, empty house that is shrouded by the night’s darkness will always be a chilling scene. What should be a warm and inviting space, intended as a comforting shelter, can quickly become a labyrinth of unknown corridors, with horrifying creaks and moans possibly emanating from creatures with insidious intentions. It is a universal fear, which is why it often serves as the foundation for many stories that trap their characters in confined settings as terror descends upon their psyche. The premise of “Push” finds itself within the confines of this particular story, and while it has all the hallmarks of an effective entry, it’s far too tedious an exercise to be truly impactful.
It’s a pivotal moment in the life of Natalie (Alicia Sanz), a Spanish real estate agent who has now found herself surrounded by the scenic views of Michigan. She is desperate to sell an old house, a vintage mansion that also holds a dark history related to murder and supposed hauntings. It’s a task she feels emboldened to accomplish, which will not be easy in her state. She’s nearing the end of her pregnancy, which has a tinge of tragedy since the father was recently killed in a car accident. She’s alone now, but unfortunately, her solitude is not permanent. When a mysterious man (Raúl Castillo) appears at the open house, his reserved and quiet demeanor suggests something more sinister. In truth, he has his own obsession with this property and has now sought to terrorize this young woman. She tries her best to evade him, hoping that she and her unborn child will survive the night.
David Charbonier and Justin Douglas Powell have an affinity for the horror genre, so this effort fits right into their previously established filmography. They have a keen sense of establishing an uneasy atmosphere, filled with deep shadows that slash across the frame to help create an eerie mood. As Natalie traverses the home, a figure occasionally drifts through the background, which is always an effective tool that aids in crafting a sense of tension and dread. The problem is that this only works so often, and eventually, the filmmaking seems resigned to cheap jump scares, an overpowering score, and a lethargic pace. There are bursts of excitement every now and then, with one particular set piece involving an old elevator that utilizes the claustrophobic space for a scene of thrilling anxiety. But it is not enough to sustain this banal endeavor.
Matters are not helped by a narrative that initially seems invested in creating yet another trauma metaphor for these characters to endure, but the analysis is quite shallow and pedestrian. While Natalie mourns her deceased lover, nothing about his accident haunts her outside of a few bad dreams that recall the incident. The daunting task of caring for a new child in the absence of her partner would be fertile ground for all the insecurities that await parenthood. Still, those anxieties recede against the backdrop of the terrorizing stalker. Even the potential mental illness that plagues this man is rooted in a vague backstory that doesn’t give much dimension to his motivation outside of a surface-level analysis of general craziness. On the one hand, it is a nice reprieve not to be bogged down by a lofty thematic commentary that tries to attach loftier goals to this story’s perspective that aren’t necessary. At the same time, so little is done to create engaging characters, or at the very least, insert them into some kind of scenario that is even a bit captivating. Instead, the storytelling prods along, rarely indulging in an enticing tone.
As the central figure, Sanz occupies a role that is quite common. The young woman must summon her own courage and intellect to battle the evil monster that is constantly on the attack. There are emotional moments that are given to her, as the character’s backstory would dictate, but there’s honestly not much in her portrayal that is particularly compelling. She sells the moments of dread as effectively as possible, but the nature of the film demands little modulation from her performance. Soon, it becomes just as monotonous as the rest of the film, though it’s more the fault of limited complexities from the page. Castillo has a similar issue, but he is at least able to manifest a more creepy presence that is well-juxtaposed against the rage he showcases. Again, he is also faced with the problem of a shallow construction of the role, and we patiently wait for a more intriguing motive that never seems to come. The cat-and-mouse game between the two of them should be fueling the film’s momentum, but instead, these two actors can only deliver serviceable turns with such limiting material.
There’s a familiar veneer to “Push” that seems like it could be an entertaining, if overly familiar, venture. It effectively establishes the moody aura necessary to put an audience on edge and occasionally succeeds in crafting sequences of tension that demonstrate a competency in delivering thrills. However, these accomplishments are inconsistent, and ultimately, the project is hindered by poor execution. With a story that creates neither engrossing characters nor an absorbing narrative, what’s left is a hollow exercise that is hardly frightening and, even worse, mostly bland and uninspired. Despite the flashes of a more promising output, the final results are resoundingly flat and mundane.
