CRUMB CATCHER Review: A Pitch To Die For

Leah (Ella Rae Peck) and Shane (Rigo Garay) just got married, and it’s not going great.

You can see the crumbs of tension and resentment between the two at their wedding that her parents paid for, as he is repeatedly reminded.

Shane’s big break, and presumably paycheck, is coming soon, as his book of memoirs should be released soon. it's a big deal for Leah, too, since she works at the same publishing house and is basically his agent, which doesn’t make their dynamic any easier.

The next day, they arrive at their honeymoon destination, a sleek-looking house in the woods offered to them by Leah’s boss. They are engaged in typical newlyweds’ activities – sexy times and bickering -- when an overzealous waiter, John (John Speredakos), and his wife, Rose (Lorraine Farris), arrive with their lost wedding cake.

What starts as an annoyance soon reveals itself to be a bizarre extortion plot. Then, things take an even gloomier turn as John, who claims to be an artist and entrepreneur, decides to pitch his business idea to the unfortunate newlyweds.

The home invasion thriller genre is definitely on the rise these days, and no thanks to the ill-conceived Strangers sequel. The call is coming from the indie sector of the horror universe with multiple filmmakers coming up with curious twists on the familiar story.

Last year, Jason Miller’s debut Ghosts of the Void came up with a home invasion plot without the home part. Crumb Catcher, another feature debut, directed by Chris Skotchdopole and co-written by him, Rigo Garay and an indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (also the film's producer), offers up a new variation of horror an invasion can bring to the table: extreme awkwardness.

In 2008, when Bryan Bertino’s original The Strangers was released, there were multiple words of praise, commending the author's choice to forgo teenagers and focus instead on adults slightly weighed down by life and relationships. Several film critics put that in writing, saying that the gore is all nice and fun but that they’d really wish to know more about what happened to cause the major rift between the couple and a botched proposal.

Crumb Catcher definitely delivers on that wish. The first 20 minutes of Skotchdopole’s film plays out like a solid relationship drama with a touch of bittersweet comedy. The descent into a more absurdist and then dark territory doesn’t come out of nowhere, through, as the hints are introduced before the overly eager aspiring inventor firmly enters the picture and the heroes’ temporary abode.

For all the assets of the screenplay (and there are quite a few), it’s Skotchdopole’s direction and the cast’s efforts that help Crumb Catcher feel like such an organic piece, with all the genres mixed into it. From the start, Skotchdopole employs uncomfortable jump cuts coupled with unusual camera angles and movements that immediately create a sense of discomfort and dismay, something Shane and Leah will feel a lot, and so will the audience.

Ella Rae Peck and Rigo Garay give grounded, convincing performances as two relatively sane people who find themselves in the middle of insane circumstances. John Speredakos is the absoulute powerhouse here, along with Lorraine Farris, as John and Rose serve as the main couple's counterparts, offering another take on distraught relationships where the tension is high and the patience is thin.

In its final part, Crumb Catcher fully ventures into the genre territory, and it’s easy to imagine that not everyone will be onboard with switching from a psychological confrontation to a physical one. The transition works for the story though, and the authors manage to keep it authentic to the overall tragicomedy feel.

Then again, the best – and most terrifying – thing about the movie is how true even the most absurdist parts of it are. We all know some version of John’s type. We’ve all been Leah and Shane to some extent, trying to be polite in the face of annoying behavior until it actually turns threatening.

Two outings of Funny Games didn’t teach us not to open the door to seemingly harmless looking strangers, but hey, maybe this beautifully shot and wonderfully weird pitch session from hell will?

The film is now playing in select U.S. theaters. Visit the official Music Box Films site for locations and showtimes.