“Stalkers” begins with a breezy, believable sequence from a cell phone documenting the move and road trip to Los Angeles. The likability of Van Horn’s Andy is underscored by his flashbacks to the past relationship gone sour, well-photographed overall by Antonio Cisneros.
Van Horn has the hangdog feel of early Adam Arkin, trying to make his way in a new city by tutoring. It’s almost too good to be true that Sam falls for him, and indeed invites him home that first night (taking the rideshare car from the weirdo who takes over the story).
Ko, the Taiwanese-American actress who has had recurring roles in “Hawaii Five-0,” “Dave” and “Upload” and will be featured in arcs in new seasons of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Murders in the Building” is a strong part of the cast, easily drawing viewers in.
Joplin, looking like a young Louis C.K., has an intensity that can go way over the top. If the film is trying to update the idiom of “Taxi Driver” with today’s form of ridesharing, he’s no De Niro.
Blame the screenplay by Savage and Dash Hawkins that makes him fly off the handle so quickly — breaking into his enemy’s apartment, setting up spyware and urinating in his orange juice as just the beginning of his revenge plan, again for missing a brunch appointment.
There’s something real to tap into here, such as the frightening ease at which someone can hack a phone by swiping a SIM card, guess personal questions to gain access to a bank, or gain access to the wifi by literally coming to the apartment with a shirt that says Wi-Fi Guy.
Identity sealing is a fear everyone can connect with.
But because this is a genre horror films there also has to be some sudden murders, brutal kidnappings and bizarre turns. Originally titled “Blinders,” the idea was to open audience eyes at the world’s prevailing scams and self delusions. But maybe a blunt and obvious title like “Stalkers” ends up being more fitting after all.
Savage’s second film hasn’t had the best of luck — it originally came out on the weekend the pandemic shut theaters down. It has since won the audience award of Dark Matters Feature at the Austin Film Festival and best thriller at the Shriekfest Award. It’s trying to stick around and be noticed by a wider audience by being available on Hulu, or for rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Vudu.