Upside, by Reed Lackey

There is a very specific sub-genre of thriller set in a singular location, usually built around a countdown based life-or-death-stakes scenario. Notable entries in this field have been Phone Booth and Buried, but the latest one is an independent piece called Flipped (also known as Blood Rush), directed and co-written by Harris Demel.

We meet celebrity model Nicole Diamond when her world is literally upside down, the result of a car accident we haven’t seen in which she was the driver. Pinned in the inverted car, she struggles in vain to free herself. Her companion, which the opening credits reveal to be her celebrity fiancée, is unconscious in the passenger seat next to her and is not likely to recover from his injuries. Unfortunately, her phone (which is deliberately not a smartphone) isn’t working conveniently. The numbers 9 and 1 won’t work, meaning her emergency call options are severely limited. She begins trying to dial the numbers that do work, unsuccessfully trying to reach her friend for help and ultimately connecting to a gravely-throated stranger who assures her that help is on the way, but who quickly seems to be far less interested in rescuing her from the car than from teaching her a few rough lessons.

Portraying this imperiled damsel is the lovely and talented Stella Maeve, who delivers a committed and compelling performance. She displays the entire spectrum of emotional distress and relief with charisma and believability, even in the times when her predicament becomes rather unbelievable. On the phone with her is the roughly voiced Michael Madsen, whose performance depends a bit too heavily on the sounds he can make and not enough on the emotion behind them. Given that he’s essentially delivering a vocal performance only, I’m inclined to forgive some monotonous delivery, but it does become difficult at times to not hear everything spoken by him as expressing either mad or madder. Considering that he’s a veteran actor at this point, and the name most likely to create a draw for the film, I’d have liked to have heard a richer, more multi-layered performance.

But Maeve is a real find in this film, keeping the audience engaged and genuinely invested in her character throughout the narrative’s varied turns. She successfully navigates some rather abrupt shifts in the script and considering that she spends nearly all of the 90 minute running time positioned upside down, it’s all the more impressive how well she holds the viewer’s engagement. Even when the story demands more extreme reactions from her, she makes them feel entirely earned. 

And the story does demand some extremities. A savvy viewer will be able to tell within the first twenty minutes that all is not quite what it seems. Indeed, there is a conceit to what’s happening (I’m reluctant to call it a “twist”, but if you did, I wouldn’t argue with you). However, the reveal is thematically vital, genuinely unexpected, and carries some legitimate emotional resonance. It was the rare third act surprise that made me almost completely forgive earlier weaknesses in the film, including plot inconsistencies and painfully distracting moments in the home of the man she’s called which prove to be largely unimportant. However, once all of the cards are on the table, I found myself impressed and admiring of the way the film handled its complicated and sensitive themes.

The film tackles an issue which it could have easily mined for cheap sympathy and cliche’d conclusions. But it bravely attempts to subvert the conversation norms and explore the psychology of the issue with conclusions you’ve probably heard before, but might never have asked what it really looks like to come to them.

Ultimately, the film is a strong surprise. It isn’t perfect, (I’ve already mentioned my ambivalence towards Madsen’s performance) and the choices to occasionally reveal inside the home of the man our main character is speaking to are nearly indefensible from a filmmaking and narrative perspective. However, the lead performance is quite strong, the tension is real and earned – there are at least two strong startles and a sequence involving a snake which had me clenching my armrest – and the thematic handling is noteworthy. Flipped is a pleasant surprise. A sharp needle amidst the often tedious haystack of independent low-budget thrillers that is worth checking out.