MOVIE PREVIEWS
DIG
Rated: R
Release Date: 09/23/2022
Production Company: Saban Films

Cast:
Thomas Jane, Harlow Jane, Emile Hirsch and Liana Liberato.

Crew:
Director: K. Asher Levin. Producers: Jason Armstrong, Daniel Cummings, Robert Dean, Rob Goodrich, Jesse Kinser. Executive Producers: K. Asher Levin, Grady Craig, Clay Epstein, David Gendron, Matthew Helderman, Thomas Jane, Josh Monkarsh, Courtney Lauren Penn, Vahik Pirhamzei, Jarnell Stokes, Luke Taylor, Viviana Zarragoitia and Stephen St. Peter. Screenwriters: Banipal Ablakhad and Benhur Ablakhad.
Plot:
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.

Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at my new times of 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.

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.

OLD SCHOOL VIDEO PICK OF THE MONTH

<b>MAHOGANY</b> Title: MAHOGANY
Year Released: 1975
Running Time: 109
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Director: Berry Gordy, Tony Richardson and Jack Wormser
Director of Photography: David Watkin
Screenwriter: John Byrum and Toni Amber
Author: Lana K. Wilson-Combs

REVIEW: DIANA ROSS AND BILLY DEE WILLIAMS DAZZLE IN "MAHOGANY"

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Do you get what you're hoping for? When you look behind you, there's no open doors. What are you hoping for? Do you know? "Theme from Mahogany...
  MOVIE TRIVIA
 
The "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" was sung by Diana Ross in the 1975 movie "Mahogany." But, who initially recorded the song in 1973?
"Roberta Flack"
"Natalie Cole"
"Deniece Williams"
"Thelma Houston"