Stash House (2012)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I love watching good and bad movies, the bad ones are always worth a laugh. This movie however, was something completely different. Dolph Lundgren is an actor that I enjoy watching, he's not really all that good, but he's not terrible. The movie itself though, is terrible. I found myself yelling at the screen by the end of it.There were many situations that just seemed way too unreasonable. The ending was a cluster of "where is everybody now?", "no one would do that" and "are you kidding me?". The film seems to have been shot all through CCTV and hand-held camcorders. Reminded me of watching the Blair Witch Project, but without the laughs.Even if you are a fan of the actors, I could not recommend this movie as it makes them seem worse than they are. It had potential to be something better, but failed many times. If your looking for a movie with this kind of "setup", then try Panic Room or Hostage.

The action and thriller genres probably produce just as much if not more films than the horror genre going to straight to home video and are just as hit and miss. Dolph Lundgren has probably become one of the more main stay action stars who has really made a name for himself in this market have a well-received string of hits on the big screen. Over the last few years he has delivered countless movies that good or bad deliver something special thanks to his unique delivery. His latest Stash House is part of the new After Dark Action brand and looks to be something a bit different for him, but will it work? Stash House follows a young couple who have just bought their dream house through a foreclosure price that was a steal. When they discover illegal drugs packed into the walls and realize things are not what they seem and they are in a fight for survival as they must face off against two gun toting ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to get what's theirs. This movie isn't anything all that new basically being a similar story to both films titled Trespass (1992's starring Ice Cube and Ice-T as well as the recent title starring Nicolas Cage). This is a story that has been done numerous times, but not always effectively. Here they have a decent set-up with tons of dramatic and action packed build-up, but never really finds its legs to deliver what it could have been. Lundgren delivers his usual menacing performance and is great here, but is also given a couple of moments to try and show remorse, but somehow still comes off scary. His partner in crime, literally played by Jon Huertas of ABC's Castle does a good job playing up the normal and crazy moments of his character. The rest of the cast deliver decent performances and help bring the overall film together, but the big issue is just in the story. There just isn't enough here to really step this film out of the realm of average, but enough to still make it entertaining.If you are a Lundgren fan then you will want to check this film out. He is a bit more tame here than usual but still has that dominating screen presence he always delivers. There isn't near as much action here as you would think, but plays more as a thriller to keep you wondering what will happen next. In a world flooded with action films on the store shelve, Stash House plays way more like a bigger budget good film than most of the lame choices out there.

I will start off by saying that I am a Dolph Lundgren fan. I will however say that I have not loved every movie he has made but I am still a fan. I like how he plays his roles as honest as possible. He doesn't fake it to try to be something he is not. He is not a great actor but a good and honest actor he always give 100% of himself. That being said I can not rate the movie on that and him alone. if you have seem some of his other films and enjoyed them well this one is pretty much the same. The cosmetic view point in this one is even better than normal for his style of films. The story was much better too and the rest of the actors played there part pretty good although I though Dolph was the best. Please don't expect a grand master piece when watching this, remember what type of movie you are going to watch and then sit down and enjoy. Too many people sit down to a Dolph Movie or Stallone or Jean-Claude Vandamme and expect a award winning movie. Why ? When has that ever occurred. Then they say it was a waste of time. .... well sure if that is what they were expecting , they're right but it wasn't the movie's fault. I sat through this and just relaxed and enjoyed like ones supposed to do.

This movie was actually painful to watch. The couple in it were extremely stupid whiny and annoying. Dolf was actually by far the best actor in this movie and that is not saying much. Dear director and screenwriter if you want to make a movie like this watchable, please make the couple at least likable. To the casting director, I know you are on a budget but you can find lots of starving actors who are 1000 times better than these 2. To the actors well I suggest you find another line of work.I only gave it 1 star because I couldn't give it zero. IMDb please add that option