Replicas [aka In Their Skin]
Director: Jeremy Power Regimbal
Writer: Joshua Close
Cast: Selma Blair, Joshua Close, James D’Arcy, Rachel Miner, Quinn Lord, Alex Ferris
Part of: /slash Filmfestival

Plot:
After the death of their little daughter, Mary (Selma Blair) and Mark Hughes (Joshua Close) decide to head to their summer home a little early. So they take their son Brendon (Quinn Lord) and their dog and just try to get away from it all. But when they reach their house, they are visited by new neighbors – Bobby (James D’Arcy), Jane (Rachel Miner) and their son Jared (Alex Ferris). These neighbors basically force a dinner invitation out of the Hughes and then that dinner quickly grows tense and ugly. But that’s only the start of the nightmare.

The movie was very atmospheric and tense but unfortunately the plot didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

The movie was great in the beginning, as it builds up and sets up the situation. But as the people become crazier, the movie starts to fall apart. The plot just makes less and less sense. And there are so many instances where the plot hinges on the protagonists behaving like idiots – it’s lazy writing.

And I was a bit annoyed  at how the women were treated by the script. Jane generally only does what Bobby tells her to and has basically no agency whatsoever. And Mary was the victim all the time, either being rescued or comforted by Mark. Or she was grumbling and snapping at Mark.

That you can still relate to Mary at all, is due to Selma Blair and her absolutely stellar performance. James D’Arcy was equally strong with his character and the magnetic center of the film.

The movie had many chances to be very good, but it would have needed a stronger script in the second half to really fulfill its potential.

Summarising: The first half is very much worth to watch.The second half not so much.