By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
In the dramatic thriller,
"Dig" from director
K. Asher Levin ("Slayers"), bad decisions are made at nearly every turn and result in some rather intense and harrowing moments.
It all begins when Scott Brennan (Thomas Jane, "Vendetta" and "The Predator") is upset that his daughter Jane, (played by Brennan's actual daughter, Harlow from TV's "High Desert”), misses her curfew because she's out partying at the local honky-tonk. He decides to show her who is boss. Along with his wife, they head out in their truck to bring Jane home.
It's embarrassing when he bursts into the bar with this huge mallet and carries Jane out as she is kicking and screaming.
That drama pales in comparison to what happens next. While headed home, Scott is suddenly cut off by another driver. He's already mad at Jane and this just sends him over the top. Scott's wife tells him to let it go. Before they go home, Scott stops at a gas station.
Parked next to him is that jerk. What are the odds? Well, Scott can't leave well enough alone. He confronts the man about cutting him off. There is a heated exchange. Scott starts fighting him as Jane and her mother try to intervene. The guy grabs his gun and shoots and kills Jane's mom. The gunshot also leaves Jane mostly deaf. All this because of Scott's ego. Jane is so traumatized by the events, she's in therapy. She won't even talk to her father now.
Scott works as a salvager. He gathers fixtures from old houses. He doesn't make a lot of money, but they were doing OK.
Just when it seems Scott and Jane's life couldn't get any worse, it does. Out of the blue, a customer named Victor (an excellent Emile Hirsch, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and "Midnight in the Switchgrass") and his girlfriend Lola (a dynamic Liana Liberato, TV's "A Million Little Things") arrive at their home offering to pay Scott a ton of money if he will dig out something that is buried underneath their house.
Scott is reluctant, but all that cash is more than enough to pay for Jane's much needed cochlear implant.
He agrees. It is another stupid decision because Victor and Lola are psycho killers. They wind up taking Scott and Jane hostage and making their lives a living hell. Every time Scott and Jane try to escape, it doesn't go well. They realize that tear filled eyes aren't going to get them anywhere.
Consequently, they decide to pull out all the stops and get revenge on these maniacs.
I can’t remember rooting so hard for two characters to survive in a movie like I did for Jane and Scott. That they are even able to stand when their horrific ordeal finally ends is worthy of applause.
I wouldn't categorize "Dig" as a horror film, per se, but it does have a good deal of suspense.
Hirsch and Liberato are deliriously wicked and evil. Their hillbilly act is both comical and menacing and a big reason I dug "Dig" so much.
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Look At This Trailer For
"DIG"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.