388 Arletta Avenue

Filmed entirely from the perspective of a stalker, 388 Arletta Avenue follows Nick Stahl’s James and Mia Kirshner’s Amy as their lives are increasingly disrupted by a mysterious figure – with the initially innocuous nature of the intrusion (eg James discovers an oldies mix disc in his car) eventually (and inevitably) giving way to something far more sinister. There’s little doubt that 388 Arletta Avenue‘s central stylistic conceit does take some getting used to, as director Randall Cole offers up an opening half hour that is, admittedly, a little light on exposition and character development – with the viewer’s efforts at embracing the protagonists exacerbated by the hands-off nature of the film’s perspective (eg the nameless stalker initially shoots the couple from his automobile before placing hidden cameras within their home, cars, and places of work). It’s worth noting, however, that the movie remains oddly compelling even through its virtually context-free opening stretch, with the inherently intriguing presentation certainly going a long way towards immediately capturing the viewer’s curiosity and interest. There is, as such, no denying that 388 Arletta Avenue improves demonstrably as time progresses, as Cole, in addition to peppering the proceedings with impressively creepy images (eg the stalker films James while he sleeps), does a nice job of infusing the narrative with a progressively ominous vibe that proves impossible to resist. And although there are a few lulls here and there, 388 Arletta Avenue builds to an absolutely captivating final stretch that’s far more suspenseful and tense than one might’ve anticipated – with the stirring climax hindered only by a rather needless epilogue (ie the movie reaches a logical end point and goes on for an extra 30 seconds or so, which is a minor complaint, admittedly, for a film that is otherwise remarkably compelling).

***1/2 out of ****