While She Was Out (2008)

NEGLECTED FEMALE REVENGE THRILLER GETS MUCH OVERDUE BLOODY ASYLUM LOVE!!!!

A Spoiler Free Review co-written with Amy Harris for The Bloody Asylum.

Susan Montford’s directorial debut While She Was Out, released in 2008, has been overlooked within the female revenge genre, except for a few critics’ unwarranted scathing reviews. Strangely panned for its perceived ‘Z-grade dialogue’ and ‘paper-thin story’, there seems to be collective agreement amongst critics that this film is ‘zero substance, straight to DVD rubbish.’

Now, The Bloody Asylum’s Amy and Karl have decided to set the record straight and give this misunderstood gem some much overdue love.

Montford, better known for her TV work, wrote and directed ‘While She Was Out’, which was adapted from a short story by Edward Bryant. Interestingly the film was also executive produced by Guillermo del Toro (a point we will revisit later).

The story sensitively follows a long suffering woman’s night of hell, at the hands of local thugs. But with the tagline ‘They Messed with the Wrong Woman on the Wrong Night’, she is anything but the victim!

In the lead role is Kim Basinger, who gives a much understated performance as downtrodden wife and loving mother Della. She lives with her abusive, narcissistic husband who is played brilliantly by Craig Sheffer; a hugely underrated actor, recognisable to horror fans as the lead in Clive Barker’s ‘Nightbreed’ (1990) and ‘Hellraiser: Inferno’ (2000). He mercilessly torments and criticises Della in front of their children, and in just a few scenes their toxic relationship is communicated perfectly through the cutting dialogue.

Things take a turn for the worse when, shortly after another argument with her husband, Della is left to go late night Christmas Eve shopping alone. Here she is confronted by a local gang of thugs. Lukas Haas gives an outstanding performance as their menacing leader, deranged “Chuckie”, who is obsessed with punishing Della after the two have a brief altercation over parking. Della quickly finds herself fighting for her life as she is pursued and terrorised, but she refuses to go down without a fight…

At first glance ‘While She Was Out’ may appear to be a generic exploitation B-movie due to its lower production values, tropes and clichés, but don’t let that fool you; look below the surface and you’ll find a layered protagonist and a driven film with nuanced depth. At times it brings to mind Abel Ferrara’s masterpiece Ms. 45 (1981), similarly vilified until recent years, and the lesser known Final Girl. (2015), which shares similar narrative threads.

Although the story has been criticised for its simplicity, from the very first scene of ‘While She Was Out’ there is a sublime realised atmosphere and ambiance of foreboding and tension – at times bringing to mind Eden Lake (2008). The twists and turns of the story are revealed gradually, with one in particular used brilliantly to wrong foot the audience. Despite being a simple revenge plot, it packs a punch!

When it kicks in, after the purposeful slow build, the violence and bloodshed is visceral and relentless. To some the sudden violence may seem unnecessary and over-the-top, when actually it is not out of place at all. The graphic nature of Della’s survival serves as a physical manifestation of her taking back control of her life. Without a doubt this metaphor was Montford’s intent: to play into the fact that what the audience, and Della, can imagine as revenge is far worse than anything a film-maker can put on screen, and yet she does. The bloodshed will certainly satisfy gore hounds and your “body horror” cravings.

All three leads bring a surprising depth to their characters, thus accentuating the cleverly written screenplay. Della is depicted beautifully as a character you will probably want to give a hug to and step in to protect her: never more so than when she meets an old school friend at the shopping centre. In this scene alone Basinger gives a heart-breaking performance as a defeated housewife, and throughout the film there are other similar touching moments that some will relate to. But when she later asserts herself you may catch yourself thinking “hang on, this badass can take care of herself!” She fights back with a genuine fury that will almost have you cheering her on. Cue second tagline: “Everyone has a breaking point. Tonight, she reaches hers.”

The performances of Basinger, Sheffer, and Haas paper over the minor cracks of the exaggerated acting by some of the supporting cast; making believable what could have been absurd with lesser actors. As a result the film is both credible and engaging – you’ll find yourself rooting for Della from beginning to end.

Despite Montford’s realistic writing and savvy directing, this is sadly the only feature film she has helmed to date, perhaps due to the unwarranted harsh criticism ‘While She Was Out’ received. It appears that the negativity aimed at Basinger are from those who cannot see past her looks to the accomplished, award winning actress she is; showcased perfectly here. It also seems there was an expectation, perhaps fuelled by del Toro’s involvement, that this film would have a bigger budget. However, this is a B-movie, despite the lower budget it has a depth, and can be appreciated on multiple levels: as pure entertainment, or an exploration of the need, and eventual assertion, to take control of one’s life – all in a lean stripped back to the bare minimum 82 minutes.

In fact, we would argue that the themes in this film are perhaps more relevant today than ever before and, when all is said and done, Karl and Amy really cannot recommend this outstanding depiction of female empowerment enough. We hope that you love it as much as we did.

‘While She Was Out’ is available on DVD, and to rent or buy digitally via Amazon.

Karl’s spoiler free reviews of:

Ms. 45:
https://mrgeekyblog.wordpress.com/2019/03/02/ms-45-1981/

Final Girl: https://mrgeekyblog.wordpress.com/2019/03/10/final-girl-2015/

Check out the trailer here: