My notes on Stalked (2019)
A low-budget suspense/action film, this has a new spin on the invisible maniac premise as an unknown psychopath (Laurence Saunders) wears a newly-developed military stealth suit that renders him see-through as he torments women he abducts and pens in an armaments factory that’s also guarded by a killer drone.
Sam (Rebecca Rogers), a soldier and single mum, is snatched off the street when she has to leave her baby alone for a few minutes to pick up medication – giving the tormentor an edge over the capable heroine as he threatens to kill the kid if she doesn’t play with him, but also ramping up the guilt/tension as the hours wear on and the baby is left home alone. In the factory, Sam discovers that she’s one of a succession of women who’ve been stalked by the killer – one bedraggled and bloody girl is quickly got rid of, but a more capable ex-nurse (Nathalie Buscombe) replaces her – and that she has been targeted precisely because her training (she can cobble together booby traps and IEDs from scraps) makes her more of a challenge.
The suit itself isn’t quite as unsettling as it might be, seen either as a black parka or a simple absence – when a boost in the effects budget could have run to more traditional invisible man effects. Sam never splashes the killer with paint or dirt or otherwise tries to render him visible – and when, late in the day, she gets into another stealth suit there’s no invisible-on-invisible fight but just a bit of a joust with the drone. Rogers has a tough, taut presence, and all the other characters are deftly sketched in for their functions in the pared-down, machine-tooled action runaround business. Written and directed by Justin Edgar.
Here’s the FrightFest listing.
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