Initially, I thought I was going to hate this movie. It top-loaded itself with far too many irritants than necessary all leveled at the main character (Shannon Beckner). She's up against a lazy boyfriend with back problems too severe to do work yet not bad enough to keep him from pumping iron, a snarky boss (overplayed by Oded Fehr), a snotty secretary with no room to cast disapproval on another woman when she shows up to work wearing fishnet stockings, friends/coworkers more than willing to throw her under the bus by suggesting that all her faculties aren't working on full power. And, as if that wasn't enough, she is the only clear thinker when it comes to battling a man-eating car.
Most of the decisions made during the course of this movie are questionable, like welding shut the only emergency exit because it serves the plot better than the reality of the situation (this would be illegal and since this is a police compound......!). They also get the bright idea to trap the beastie car because it might be worth money (this, after two coworkers have already gone missing, presumed dead). It also didn't help that most of the scenes are shot at night and in an underground garage poorly lit (they even face the impending loss of emergency lighting and are, at one point, literally in the dark). Half of the mayhem was difficult to see (especially the first two killings). I appreciate this was low budget, but that didn't mean they should skimp on ingenuity, there are ways of depicting things without the aid of special effects. In this case, seeing nothing meant nothing.
But. For all that and more, I still really enjoyed this movie; enough to want to keep it for future viewings. It lands in that gray area where, if your expectations are high, you might be disappointed, or, with lower expectations (like mine), it served its purpose on a basic level: entertainment. I grew to like it after a rocky start.
This was an impulse purchase and I'm not sorry I took a chance and bought it.
