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Released by: Lionsgate
Released on: September 10, 2013.
Director: Sean Robert Olson
Cast: Danny Trejo, Christina Cox, Brad Rowe, Taylor Spreitler, Arianne Zucker
Year: 2013
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The Movie:
Not quite the horror movie/slasher picture that the cover art would have you believe, 2013's The Contractor focuses on a woman named Elizabeth Chase (Christina Cox) who, along with husband Paul (Brad Rowe) and daughter McKenzie (Taylor Spreitler), has just moved into a new home. Like a lot of new home owners, the Chase family wants to have some renovations done and as they plan to use their new abode to host an upcoming charity event, they need to get them done fairly quickly.
Enter a man named Javier Reyes (Danny Trejo), a big, burly looking guy who looks like he can do the job. So they bring him on board and pretty much right after they do that, he starts acting weird. Well, as it turns out, Paul's a lawyer and he's got ties to Javier's son who was sent to jail at the end of one of Paul's cases. Given the fact that he was then killed in prison, well, understandably Javier's not too happy. It looks like his presence in the Chase home is more than just a coincidence…
Sure you can buy Danny Trejo as a contractor. That's not so farfetched. But can you buy Danny Trejo as a computer hacker? As a cell phone expert? That's a little tougher to do, particularly because here, just like in pretty much every other movie he's ever made (and God knows there are a LOT of them these days), Trejo plays Trejo. Dude's got great screen presence and he uses that ugly mug of his really well, but let's face it, his range is fairly limited. With that said, Trejo does what he does fairly well and with a few exceptions here and there, he's fine in the role.
What about the rest of the cast? They're fine too. Brad Rowe does well as the smug lawyer husband. When Javier's real motives are exposed he tries to explain to him that he was just doing his job and maybe, just maybe, for a moment we wonder if he doesn't doubt that's true. Young Taylor Spreitler is okay as the teen daughter while Christina Cox is both foxy looking and quite capable of handling all that the script shows here.
Director Sean Robert Olson, this being his feature debut after paying his dues in the editing booth, keeps things moving well enough and throws in a few moments of decent tension. And yet, all of this is too familiar. There's not really enough originality here to compliment some perfectly fine performances and decent technical polish. The movie looks good, it's paced well, it's put together quite nicely but the story never quite grabs you the way that it should. This comes in with a PG-13 rating slapped on it so you can only expect it to take things so far but Trejo, who is quite capable of bringing some serious menace to the right role, never manages to bring any serious menace to this one. The end result is a movie that's marginally entertaining but which lacks what it needs to really stand out.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Contractor looks fine on DVD framed at 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. Shot on digital video there are obviously no issues with print damage, dirt or debris. There are some times where the image looks a bit flat but generally detail is fine and color reproduction looks good. Compression artifacts are never an issue but if you look for it you'll probably sport some minor banding here and there.
Audio options are provided in English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with optional subtitles in Spanish and closed captioning provided in English. The 5.1 track is the way to go. It's not the most enveloping mix that you're ever going to hear but it does have some good range and some good depth in a few scenes. Surrounds are used to build tension well through some good directional effects and clever placement of the score.
Extras start off with a commentary track from director Sean Robert Olson who gives a good overview of movie. As he co-wrote the film he was involved in pretty much all aspects and he talks about the contributions of the cast and crew, some ideas that were discussed but never used and some of the themes that run through the picture.
Aside from that we get a basic behind the scenes featurette that shows the cast and crew hard at work, a still gallery, menus and chapter selection. Promos for a few other Lionsgate properties play before the main menu screen loads.
The Final Word:
Working within the confines of the PG-13 rating hurts this one, it prevents it from having the bite that it needs to really work as well as it could have. As it stands, it's perfectly passable entertainment even if it sometimes feels like a made for TV movie. Trejo uses his unique screen presence well and delivers a decent performance. If you're among his fans, you'll likely enjoy it. The DVD from Lionsgate looks and sounds fine and features a good selection of extras as well.
