''As Good as Dead'' is a 2010 American

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

film directed by Jonathan Mossek and starring

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

Frank Whaley Frank Joseph Whaley (born July 20, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and comedian. His roles include Brett in ''Pulp Fiction'', Robby Krieger in ''The Doors'', young Archie "Moonlight" Graham in ''Field of Dreams'', and Guy ...

and

Matt Dallas Matthew Joseph Dallas (born October 21, 1982) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character on the ABC Family series ''Kyle XY''. Early life Dallas was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Arizona School for the Arts. He ha ...

. It is Mossek's directorial debut. The film premiered at the 2010

Beverly Hills Film Festival The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is a film festival in the United States founded in 2001 by independent filmmaker Nino Simone. The festival is an international competition dedicated to showcasing the art and talent of emerging filmmakers a ...

Plot

Ethan Belfrage (

) is a photojournalist who is separated from his wife. One afternoon he is confronted by two men, Aaron (

) and Jake (

), who proceed to attack and kidnap him. They lock Ethan up and accuse him of being responsible for the death of their cult leader and pastor, who is the father of a third attacker, Helen Kalahan (

). Helen and Aaron claim that Ethan is one of the three assailants who killed the cult leader. When Ethan tries to contact his neighbor Sarah (Emma Kantor) for help, they then kidnap her as well. Aaron, who has a

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

tattoo on his neck, hog-ties Sarah and begins questioning her. He asks if she and Ethan are in a relationship but she denies it. The three attackers begin arguing and Helen angers Aaron by suggesting that he has psychological problems so he kills Sarah by injecting her with drugs. Aaron and Helen continue to torture Ethan until he confesses to murdering the pastor. They then make him write down the details of the pastor's murder but he refuses to cooperate, angering his attackers, who threaten to burn him alive. Ethan tries to delay them by telling them he has information containing details of the murder locked away. Aaron says that if Ethan can't find the information they will kill his daughter. Based on the proof that was locked away, Helen realizes that Ethan is not responsible for the pastor's death and tells Aaron he must be set free. Furious at the idea of freeing Ethan, Aaron kidnaps Ethan's wife and daughter, holding them hostage. Jake intervenes to stop Aaron from killing the young girl and as such Aaron accidentally shoots him. Ethan is able to untied himself using a knife Helen had given him and kills both Aaron and Helen with Aaron's gun. The film ends with Ethan and his family free from the assailants with the house burning up in flames, and it is revealed that Ethan was responsible for the murder of the pastor after all.

Cast

as Helen Kalahan *

as Ethan Belfrage *

as Aaron *

as Jake * Nicole Ansari-Cox as Kate Belfrage * Brian Cox as Reverend Kahalan *

Clark Middleton Clark Tinsley Middleton (April 13, 1957 – October 4, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' Kill Bill: Vol. 2'', ''Sin City'', ''Fringe'', ''Snowpiercer'', and ''The Blacklist''. Career Middleton's first ...

as Seth

Reception

Jesse Cataldo of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' gave the film one and a half stars.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1294136 2010 films American crime thriller films Films set in New York City 2010 directorial debut films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films