Solid First half, but a Shame about the Second...

This movie is well shot and it started out with some interesting ideas and dynamics. Then around the time when Gallagher allows Curtis to take the son out with her after she's just shown how psycho she is, it sort of falls apart.

The handy cliche of the grandmother falling down the stairs so the father will have to be away at the hospital also felt like plot machinations.

The idea of having the kid handcuff Whalley isn't entirely unbelievable but the way the whole thing plays out with the toddler getting impaled and everything seems contrived. Having Curtis play with the older kid's head was interesting, but the way he acts and how stupid he seems makes you not care much about him. You'd also think that Curtis would've planned everything out a little bit better.

The car-on-the-edge-of-the-cliff finale is especially ridiculous and familiar. So convenient that all the characters arrive at exactly the same spot and exactly the right time. Not to mention the finale cheap jump cut ripped right out of better movies like "Carrie."

There were so many other more realistic ways this movie could've played out. It would have been interesting to learn more about why Curtis was the way she was and why Gallagher even fell for her in the first place. It's a shame the writer didn't use more imagination.

This is up there with Color of Night for the stupidest movie of 1994.