An amnesiac wants to uncover his identity and an experimental drug, Mioxidil, might provide the details he needs to recover who he is..the question is whether or not he'll regret such a decision when the answers he seeks come to fruition. Fragmented images are all he currently has, but as he "ventures out into the real world", can this John Doe reawaken memories and what exactly will become of him? John Doe meets a nice young man named Stan who offers a hand of friendship. Stan is often bullied by two punk skateboarders and witnesses the ongoing strife between his mom and stepfather with John Doe an outsider to the events..or is he? You know, it's not like this movie is badly performed or made, it's just that this kind of thriller has been brought to us multiple times before. Two alternating stories seem unrelated for the exception that Stan and John Doe meet seemingly by chance, only to have a lot more in common than they think. Stan has the step father with a dark room where he stores his photographs and doesn't allow either his step son or wife in there, not to mention he wanders off at ungodly hours, acting suspiciously, often quite defensive when anyone questions his reasons for doing so. And, the movie goes out of it's way to cast a nefarious eye on Bob(Greg Grunberg, an effective creep), pointing out a dead body being found, reported murders in the newspaper. We see how both Stan and John Joe's missions converge as they discover where Bob goes during the day(..and night)and the tragic result of a particular missing person important to the plot, mentioned sparingly throughout for an intended purpose.Interesting how both Stan and John Doe(..played by Reed Diamond as a haunted and disoriented man needing closure in order to find solace and peace)are concurrently seeking answers to buried secrets which reveal themselves little by little as they search together. Lucy Lawless, in a bit of interesting casting, portrays Stan's mother, Cheryl, an unsatisfied alcoholic wife desiring emotional fulfillment, affection, and attention from Bob who seems disinterested in her sexually, causing her to become a miserable wreck, despite the fact that she is a very attractive woman just wanting some kind of loving investment, not knowing the kind of monster he really is. I don't think Bob's "after hours"(..or hours where he is supposed to be working, masquerading around the fact that he was fired, using this time committing unsavory, to say the least, acts)activities will surprise anyone watching this movie, and I figure the "twist" will be realized by more aware viewers who have seen their share of these kinds of films. Ellie Cornell, of Halloween 4 fame, has a small role as a pharmaceutical doctor wanting to use Mioxidil on John Doe to see if the drug works, with a goal to help other amnesiacs wanting to discover their identities. The most grisly scenes contain the giant black monster with sharp claws slicing the throats of women brought to life through visions which pop up in John Doe's mind from time to time. Many viewers might be reminded of The Sixth Sense while watching this movie in how the outside world treats John Doe.

This one has a pretty good plot but it didn't appeal to me at all. It starts out with a young kid being discovered with blood all over his hands, and he spends the next 15 years in a mental institution, because he has no memory of what happened or who he is. Along comes a researcher with an experimental drug that might unlock the now adult guy's mind and help him. The movie then leads us on a journey as the guy escapes the hospital and makes friends with a young kid and gets involved in his life. The kids alcoholic Mom "Lucy Lawless" is remarried to a jerk, and things get a little unsettling as the kid and his new friend decide to follow his step-dad to see what he is developing in his darkroom, and where he goes at night. There is a pretty good dose of blood and gore towards the end when everything is revealed, and story wise, the movie is not that bad. Not my cup of tea, but I can see how some fans might enjoy this movie.

I watched this movie not expecting anything too good since i had never heard of it before, but after viewing it i wasn't disappointed. The plot is easy to follow and the mostly unknown actors execute pretty well. I was majorly impressed by lucy lawless's performance expanding out of her usual role as the "badass, don't need a man to get crap done" type and taking on a more vulnerable character that shows indeed she is one of the most underrated actresses out there. The movie kind of does seem to slow down a little bit and if you have seen enough of these types of movies, the twist shouldn't come as a shocker. So if you have a free night and nothing to watch, check this out. You might actually like it.

I am not generally a "horror" fan. I admit, I watched this film so I could see Lucy Lawless's role as Cheryl, the alcoholic Mother of Stanley and the wife of Bob. Her portrayal of this once strong, confident and beautiful woman is devastating. She captures her spirit and pain seemingly effortlessly. Lucy has shown her unending range with this film, and I wish she had more scenes. Her character simply fascinated me, and would love to see a sequel for this one. I would have loved to see this character developed more, but I understand that the film is about the murders, and not Cheryl.I have watched this thing half a dozen times in five days. I guess I am addicted. I suppose I should mention the other cast, Reed Diamond (mental patient), Greg Grunberg (Bob), and Shawn Pyfrom (Stanley) were all very well cast. I watched the commentary, and it seems they had quite the time finding these actors for these roles. I won't give away what they said, but it was a miracle this movie was made at all. The story is very good, and plays out well. I do not want to give it away, so I won't. Nice twist at the end. They did a good job of not quite letting you know what was going to happen.One of the only things that I would have done was make this film longer. At 84 minutes, it seems too short. That would also have aloud more Cheryl development. All in all, an EXCELLENT movie! Michael Hurst (writer/director) ended up with a good film for all the hell it was to get made. Charis.xX 2006