Freeze Frame

A stylish, albeit low-budget psychological drama, Freeze Frame tells the story of Sean Veil (Lee Evans, taking a break from his traditional slapstick antics). He's the chief suspect in a number of murders who has decided to film himself around the clock in an effort to prove his innocence to the police, whose investigation is spearheaded by the dogmatic Detective Emeric (the always solid McGinley). Meanwhile, tabloid reporter Katie Carter (Stirling) believes that Veil could be her ticket to the big time, and a profiler (Ian McNeice) is equally determined to prove that his hunch about Veil wasn't wrong.

Somewhat reminiscent of Darren Aronofsky's Pi (1998) in terms of atmosphere and low budget filming techniques, Freeze Frame starts out as an edgy, dark little movie, but lacks the fluency and verve to carry its intriguing premise through to its (un)natural conclusion. An initially interesting study into the nature of paranoia, insecurity and illusion, Freeze Frame makes the fatal misstep of plunging into straightforward hackneyed thriller territory when one particular tape, which is vital, goes unexpectedly missing, leaving Veil liable to be nailed for the murders. Try as he might, Simpson can't regain control of his screenplay after this, allowing the film to peter out somewhat unsatisfactorily. Still, it's not bad fare and Simpson, with a bigger budget behind him, could be a filmmaker to watch in the future.