Spoiler alert!
This movie was well done and the acting was quite solid. The year is 1999 and the place is Chicago. A man, James, grieving for the disappearance of his girlfriend, Hannah, a few years ago buries himself in his work as a film editor. He also regularly attends group therapy sessions with other folks processing their grief.
While reviewing a video from the late 1980's, James stumbles on a strange 'intrusion' of several seconds. Someone wearing a mask in a darkened room is wailing at the camera. There is a lot of background noise. Very strange and intriguing.
James decides to follow up and find out the source of this illegal broadcast. Along the way, he meets a Dr. Lithgow who reports there were two (or possibly three) such broadcasts. The FCC, in their search to find the perpetrators, has come down hard and confiscated as many copies of this video as they could find.
Some odd characters come out of the woodwork to warn James about these videos. He also learns that he is being followed by a strange woman named Alice. He ducks into a bar and she follows him inside. Alice will only reveal what's up if James agrees to get drunk with her.
From this point, we venture into more strangeness in James' obsessive pursuit of the source of the broadcasts. From the dates, James figures out there is a connection to disappearance of Hannah. There is a storage shed containing nothing but a rotary phone and an old answering machine. This leads them to a P. O. Box.
They then find the perpetrator... or do they? James doesn't think so. Alice however does and then vanishes that same evening. Incredibly, James the next morning barely notices or cares.
I am convinced that what we are really watching is James' descent into madness. It is all of his grief which is manufacturing some solution to how Hannah vanished. I wonder if Alice and Dr. Lithgow even exist! Poor James is losing his mind. The movie seems to end abruptly without resolution.
This movie was well done and the acting was quite solid. The year is 1999 and the place is Chicago. A man, James, grieving for the disappearance of his girlfriend, Hannah, a few years ago buries himself in his work as a film editor. He also regularly attends group therapy sessions with other folks processing their grief.
While reviewing a video from the late 1980's, James stumbles on a strange 'intrusion' of several seconds. Someone wearing a mask in a darkened room is wailing at the camera. There is a lot of background noise. Very strange and intriguing.
James decides to follow up and find out the source of this illegal broadcast. Along the way, he meets a Dr. Lithgow who reports there were two (or possibly three) such broadcasts. The FCC, in their search to find the perpetrators, has come down hard and confiscated as many copies of this video as they could find.
Some odd characters come out of the woodwork to warn James about these videos. He also learns that he is being followed by a strange woman named Alice. He ducks into a bar and she follows him inside. Alice will only reveal what's up if James agrees to get drunk with her.
From this point, we venture into more strangeness in James' obsessive pursuit of the source of the broadcasts. From the dates, James figures out there is a connection to disappearance of Hannah. There is a storage shed containing nothing but a rotary phone and an old answering machine. This leads them to a P. O. Box.
They then find the perpetrator... or do they? James doesn't think so. Alice however does and then vanishes that same evening. Incredibly, James the next morning barely notices or cares.
I am convinced that what we are really watching is James' descent into madness. It is all of his grief which is manufacturing some solution to how Hannah vanished. I wonder if Alice and Dr. Lithgow even exist! Poor James is losing his mind. The movie seems to end abruptly without resolution.