Chris Gorak made his directorial debut with terror attack thriller Right At Your Door. He was commended for evoking a "claustrophobic" atmosphere, but the drama between married couple Brad (Rory McCochrane) and Lexi (Mary McCormack) grows less compelling as the minutes pass. Consequently, when it came to adding up the ticket sales, this film did not live up to the hype.
Launching The Attack
Gorak does give a few handy hints to wannabe filmmakers in the bonus section of this DVD, but there's little else to hold your interest. In 45 minutes worth of interview footage he talks about developing the script as a reaction to "the post 9/11 atmosphere" and admits he was worried about taking that final "left turn into science fiction". Of course he did it anyway, which begs the question: is this the guy you want to be taking screenwriting tips from? NB: the alternative endings (which are only subtly different) are presented separately in script format.
When it comes to visual effects and sound design, Gorak is much more convincing. He talks about using stock footage of the city and narrowing the scope of the story so that he wouldn't have to spend money staging the downtown bombing.
In Lockdown
Gorak elaborates on working within the confines of a tight budget in his commentary for the film. Apparently it's free to shoot anywhere in Los Angeles, which helps, but the most important decision he made was to exclude scenes of TV reportage. Instead, the protagonists rely on radio reports of the dirty bombing because a) it meant he didn't have to fork out for the big explosions, and b) "I was looking for another way to experience a tragic event... Without the TV," he adds, "it became more claustrophobic."
Unfortunately there are no cast interviews to balance the package and no direct behind-the-scenes access either. Gorak certainly tries to make up for that by talking for hours, but unless you're a budding filmmaker planning to make a low-budget disaster flick, you won't want to be stuck in a bunker with this DVD.
EXTRA FEATURES
Right At Your Door DVD is released on 15th January 2007.
