Stray, 2016.
Directed by Nena Eskridge
Starring Gabrielle Stone, Andrew Sensenig, Sean Patrick Folster and Samantha Fairfield Walsh.
SYNOPSIS:
Jennifer, a troubled young woman seemingly on the run, arrives in a sleepy small town where she begins to take increasingly dubious methods in an attempt to find love and gain the family that she so desperately craves.
Sometimes I think that my Flickering overlords dislike me judging by the kind of films they send me and the subject of today’s review, the drama Stray, only serves to prove my point, being easily one of the dullest films I’ve ever had to review.
This is probably the most difficult review I’ve ever had to write in my time as a critic – mainly because there are only so many ways I can describe a film as boring, dull, insufferable, miserable, bland and glacial. But, I have a job to do. So let’s dive into this bowl of muddy water, shall we?
The acting is not exactly great, and comes across as the sort of calibre you would find in a bad TV movie; it’s not helped by the lack of likable or memorable characters. Gabrielle Stone’s lead role as Jennifer is particularly infuriating, with the eventual reveal of the character’s tragic backstory only gaining a small degree of sympathy, and the character being very difficult to like up to that point. We have some comic relief in the form of Arita Trahan’s surly old lady Edna, but the film’s painful attempts to inject humour are about as funny taking a concrete basketball to the face.
I normally hate to bash actors in low-budget films like these, as they really are trying their best, but they aren’t helped in their efforts by the film’s bland direction and clichéd story which I’ve seen done dozens of times before and to a much better degree.
If anything the film reminded me somewhat of the underrated 80s horror The Stepfather (1987), with the plot of a troubled traveller arriving in new surroundings attempting to start a family, but finding their plans falling apart leading to violence. This film is not too dissimilar, only minus excellent Terry O’Quinn and with any and all suspense and excitement removed, and replaced with a badly directed cast of cardboard cut-outs.
Stray is a bland experience all round, having all the visual flair of a catalogue of benches, and a pace that moves slower than a snail in a hurry; every minute feels like a year, and an exceedingly boring one at that. There is really nothing positive that I can say about this film, other than it ends.
There’s honestly not much more I can say about this film without essentially repeating myself, which rarely happens to me. Normally I have plenty to say about films I watch, good and bad, but this film has beaten me – it’s a film so boring that I can find nothing more to criticise about it.
With performances that can politely be described as flat, direction that can politely be described as lifeless, and a plot that is older than teabags and about as enjoyable as being forced to eat a set of used ones. Avoid Stray unless you’re suffering from insomnia, in which case the film might just prove useful after all.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★
Graeme Robertson
Originally published October 21, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
