The Trigger Effect (1996)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

David Koepp

Writers (WGA):

James Burke (television series Connections)
David Koepp (written by)

Release Date:

30 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

When Nothing Works, Anything Goes.

Plot:

How tenuous is man's hold on civilization when survival becomes an issue? When the lights go out and stay out for several days...

Plot Keywords:

House | Neighbor | Burglar | Female Nudity | Gun

Cast

Kyle MacLachlan	...	Matthew
Elisabeth Shue	...	Annie Kay
Dermot Mulroney	...	Joe
Richard T. Jones	...	Raymond
Bill Smitrovich	...	Steph
Michael Rooker	...	Gary
Tori Kristiansen	...	Sarah
Tyra Kristiansen	...	Sarah
Rick Worthy	...	Johnny
Edhem Barker	...	Trendy German Guy
Tyrone Tann	...	Tripping Guy
David O'Donnell	...	Hand Holding Guy
Monica Torres	...	Hand Holding Girl
Greg Grunberg	...	Double Date Guy
Kerri Vickers	...	Double Date Girl

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | France:U | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:13 | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Alamitos, California, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

The story is inspired by the classic "The Twilight Zone" (1959) episode "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street," which depicts the denizens of the street slowly becoming crazy after a power failure. In fact, in the film's production notes, Matthew and Annie live on the corner of Maple and Willoughby (another classic TZ episode, "A Stop At Willoughby"), obvious allusions to "The Twilight Zone".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Matthew walks from the hospital to the pharmacist to steal the prescription for the baby, the trolley camera and the guy pulling it are reflected in the shop window.

Quotes:

Joe: The Martians have landed. They want our women.

Movie Connections:

Features Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Soundtrack:

Blood, Guts & Firetrucks

adding insult to injury

One of those movies that could have been good, if Alfred Hitchcock was still alive. Everybody was in a bad mood anyway if the opening scenes were anything to go by. The opening scenes were good, by the way, which was one reason I kept watching, but to no avail. I agree, it gets worse as it goes along, as if the writer had one good idea then didn't know where to go with it, so it didn't go anywhere. If you're about to rent this movie anyway, think about why you've never heard of it.