''Junction'' is a 2012 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written and directed by

Tony Glazer is a Japanese anime television franchise animated by Satelight. The original season aired on Tokyo MX between January and March 2012. The second season entitled ''Symphogear G'' aired between July and September 2013, The third season, ''Sy ...

. The film stars

Neal Bledsoe Neal Bledsoe (born March 26, 1981) is a Canadian and American actor, writer, and filmmaker. Early life Bledsoe was born in Toronto, but grew up in Seattle, Washington. Both of his grandfathers served in the Air Force during World War II and his ...

, Summer Crockett Moore,

Tom Pelphrey Thomas J. Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the CBS television series ''Guiding Light'' and ''As the World Turns'' respectively, Kurt Bunker in the Ci ...

and Harris Doran with

David Zayas David Zayas (born August 15, 1962) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as Angel Batista on Showtime's series '' Dexter'' and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series '' Oz''. Early life Zayas was born in Ponce, Puer ...

Michael O'Keefe Michael O'Keefe (born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr.; April 24, 1955) is an American actor, known for his roles as Danny Noonan in ''Caddyshack'', Ben Meechum in ''The Great Santini,'' for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Bes ...

and

Anthony Ruivivar Anthony Michael Ruivivar (born ) is an American actor. He is known for playing Carlos Nieto on ''Third Watch'' and Alex Longshadow on ''Banshee''. He also voiced Batman on '' Beware the Batman''. Early life and education Ruivivar was born in ...

in supporting roles. Desperate to score drugs, four strung out meth-addicts - Donald (Bledsoe), Kari (Moore), David (Pelphrey) and Spot (Doran) – break into an upscale suburban home looking for a flat screen television that was requested by their dealer (Ruivivar). During the burglary, Spot and Donald discover a dark secret about the homeowners, which pits the four meth-addicts against each other and the police (Zayas and O'Keefe). The film was released in the United States on July 14, 2012.

Plot

Four strung out meth-addicts - Donald (Bledsoe), Kari (Moore), David (Pelphrey) and Spot (Doran) – are desperately craving for their next fix of meth. Short on cash, the group discusses a variety of options including sending Kari to exploit their dealer's fondness for her. After some debate, the group decides to sends David, their leader and designated driver, to meet with their longtime dealer Tai (Ruivivar). Fortunately, Tai needs a television as a birthday gift for his mother. Desperate, David agrees to take up Tai on his offer of drugs in exchange for a new flat screen television for his mom. Searching for a flat screen television to rob, the group drives to the upscale neighborhood of Verterra Hill where they expect to readily find one in the well furnished townhouses. The group spots and breaks into a seemingly empty house. Quickly, the group finds the sought flat screen television and puts it in their car's back seat. While ransacking for more valuables, Donald discovers a stash of child pornography DVDs as well as photos of a couple and their young daughter, whom are presumed to be the house residents. Donald, a victim of

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

, goes mad upon the discovery and has a fight with Spot over it. Donald tries to persuade the group to turn over the stash to the authorities. When the home owner - Connor (Anthony Rapp) – unexpectedly returns, Donald viciously attacks him and ties him up. Entering soon after, Connor's wife – Jennifer (Maguire) and daughter Mia (Kotch) are also bound and gagged. When the group is distracted by Donald torturing Connor, Mia sneaks away to make a 911 call. What started as a simple house burglary turns into a hostage situation with the arrival of the police, who are led by hostage negotiator Lt. Tarelli (Zayas) and his colleague - Walters (O’Keefe). Meanwhile, Tai calls Donald seeking an update on his flat screen TV errand. Upon learning about the hostage situation, Tai tells Donald to not call him until he has escaped from the authorities. After hanging up, Tai disposes of his burner cell phone in a nearby lake. Internal tensions within both groups fuel to the chaotic situation: Lt. Tarelli's past role in a failed hostage rescue and Donald's insistence that the parents be exposed as pedophiles. During the hostage negotiations, Donald demands that a television crew be sent to the house to interview him. Donald plans to expose the parents as pedophiles. Taking advantage of this, Lt. Tarelli instead sends police officers posing as a television film crew to mount a hostage rescue. During the ensuing hostage rescue chaos, Kari is killed (knife to throat) and Connor is shot by the SWAT team. Meanwhile, David and Spot are captured and arrested. After hostage rescue, Jennifer and Mia are debriefed and sent home. At the command center/precinct house, Walters commends Lt. Tarelli on the successful hostage rescue. Upon returning home, Jennifer listens to her phone's answering machine messages including one left by her late husband Connor. In the message, Connor is angry at discovering the stash of child pornography. He threatens to turn over the evidence to the police and reveal that Jennifer is pedophile. After the message ends, Jennifer deletes the recording and resumes cleaning the house. As the movie ends, and before the credits roll, Tai is shown breaking into a police impound lot to recover “his” flat screen TV that was left in the four meth addicts’ car.

Cast

as Lt. Tarelli *

as Walters *

Anthony Rapp Anthony Deane Rapp (born October 26, 1971) is an American actor and singer who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of ''Rent''. Following his original performance of the role in 1996, Rapp reprised it in the film version ...

as Connor *

as Tai *

as Donald * Summer Crockett Moore as Kari *

as David * Harris Doran as Spot * Sharon Maguire as Jennifer * Danielle Kotch as Mia * Joanna Bayless as Mrs. Pendelson * Peter Aguero as Thug * Laurence Blum as Patrol Officer Laurant * Matt De Matt as Ross * Bryan Deehring as Martin Bateman * Pat Patterson as Patrice * Derek Roche as Thomas * Yvonne Jung as Reporter Wood * Kaipo Schwab as Reporter * Maria Arce as SWAT Team Member #2 * James Adames as Police Officer

Production

Principal photography took place in November and December 2010 in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, th ...

Reception

Critical response

The film was acclaimed by critics. Jeannette Catsoulis, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', praised the movie as "a cleverly constructed hostage thriller cum morality play". Frank Scheck, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', called Junction "A quietly effective thriller with a few clever narrative tricks up its sleeve." Scheck complimented Director Tony Glazer by stating Junction "overcomes its low-budget limitations with clever variations on its familiar genre as well as a taut execution". Catsoulis applauded Tony Glazer's directing "Executing a tonal shift that might challenge a more seasoned director, Mr. Glazer provides carefully choreographed action and violence that’s both credible and divorced from sadism". Critics universally highlighted the cast's solid performances. Catsoulis said the cast delivered "solid acting (there isn’t a weak performance in the bunch)". Echoing this, Scheck commented that "strong performances from a cast that includes such familiar faces" played major role in Junction.

Release

''Junction'' was released on July 14, 2012

Awards and nominations

;Awards * 2012

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

– Spirit of the Independent Award For Feature Film * 2012

Long Island International Film Expo The Long Island International Film Expo, founded in 1997 by Nassau County Film Office Director, Debra Markowitz. The festival generally receives between 400 and 450 submissions every year In 2009, 170 films from 23 countries were screened at the ...

– Best First Feature * 2012

– Best Screenplay for Tony Glazer * 2012

– Best Actor for Neal Bledsoe * 2012

– Best Supporting Actor for Harris Doran * 2012

– Best Supporting Actress for Summer Crockett Moore * 2012

– Best Art Direction * 2013 SoHo International Film Festival – Best Feature Film - Jury Prize * 2013 ReelHeART International Film Festival – Best Ensemble Cast ;Nominations * 2012

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers’ creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the ...

–

Best Narrative Feature Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

* 2012

Central Florida Film Festival Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

–

Best Feature Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

* 2014

Prism Awards The Entertainment Industries Council is a United States non-profit organization founded in 1983 that promotes the depiction of accurate health and social issues in film, television, music, and comic books. The Council provides guidelines on the depi ...

–

Feature Film - Substance Use Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

References

External links

* * * {{Metacritic film 2012 crime thriller films 2012 films American crime thriller films 2010s English-language films Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey American independent films 2012 independent films 2010s American films