The Trigger Effect

A superb cast and surprisingly decent production value can do little to save it from the terrible screenplay and limited direction. The concept itself is fascinating but when viewed through such a limited vision delivers a very tone deaf approach to anthropological thought experiments like this. The characters make terrible decisions one after another. Very unrealistic choices that run against normal human survival instincts. It'll be interesting to see what koepp does with Spielberg when the new alien disclosure movie drops this year!

It comes as no surprise to me that, as of this writing, no other user has gone to the trouble of writing a review of "The Trigger Effect". It's from 1996, three years prior to the launch of Metacritic, and frankly I doubt if many users are even aware of the film having existed. I only barely managed to watch this film through to the end. I spent most of the runtime grinding my teeth with irritation, but spent the final minutes laughing out loud at the monumental absurdities unfolding on my screen. This is one of those films where most of the decisions made by the characters only make matters worse. Yes, let's escape the unnamed city and seek shelter with the relatives who live in the country, because who else would even think of doing that, so gasoline should be plentiful along the way. The characters, in fact, seem designed to be their own worst enemies. There's hardly any need for a disaster. They could come to blows on a sunny day by the shore. They have little emotional self-discipline and do not appear to spend much time pondering the possible consequences of their actions. The wife's best friend is a dude and he and the husband are constantly at odds. When the crisis worsens they go out to buy a gun. Of course they leave the gun on the ground floor of the house so when someone breaks in during the night, and everyone is upstairs in bed, the gun is nowhere to be found, and of course it later turns out that the wife threw the gun into the pool when the boys weren't watching because she doesn't like guns, and apparently neither she nor anyone else has ever heard about riots and other lawlessness breaking out in the wake of mass blackouts. There's something in practically every scene that can picked apart. Suffice it to say that the three principal characters in this film are not the people you want for companions should a national emergency erupt. They will get you killed, or they might kill you themselves by the end of some dramatic confrontation over baby formula, whose turn it is to siphon the gas, or who drank all the wine. The acting is well done. The visuals are purely mundane. Watch for West Wing's Richard Schiff shining in a bit part that is a small delight in an otherwise barely tolerable production. You could give this film a try if you have nothing else on tap, but I strongly suggest having something, anything, for a backup.