HAVEN’S END

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to DVD from director Chris Ethridge and Mill Creek Entertainment comes the story of terror in the cities with HAVEN’S END.

Trauma doctor Alison (Catherine Taber) is suspended from the hospital when terror attacks begin to happen in major cities. Boyfriend Derek (Anthony Nguyen), a military man, is not happy that Alison wants to break the rules and go help where she can. Friend Jessi (Megan Hayes) knocks on the door to make sure her friends know what is happening.

It is all over the world and when the CDC is under attack, Alison, Derek and Hannah receive a message saying to get out and find a safe place. On the road the radio and cell phones are not working as they pull up to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. At the door is Harry (Robert Pralgo) who seems seriously prepared.

But when some bad boys show up, the only way for the group to get out is to fire their way out! Coming up to their next stop to help Jessi is Alison’s family camper and brother Kevin (Alex Zuko) and girlfriend Hannah (Hannah Fierman) who are a little jumpy with their own weaponry.

Its clear there are some family difficulties between Alison and Kevin so the next morning he takes Hannah and leaves the group. It does not take long before something in the woods they are walking through brings Kevin back to Alison. They can not understand his ramblings and Hannah is nowhere in sight!

Derek goes looking and does not find anything either and soon enough the lights Kevin spoke of are inside the camper. Each of them begins to experience fear and frustration of the unknown. Surprisingly, their radio begins transmitting messages from the military telling them where to go for help.

The question is – will the help still be there when they arrive!

Taber as Alison has broken the rules of being a doctor but when chaos breaks out the only place she wants to be is back in the action. Fortunately, she and the group get out in time but are isolated from the world. Taber is dealing with more than a falling apart world when Kevin and Derek don’t get along, Hannah is a problem, Jessi has a few secrets, and she doesn’t understand about the lights. That is a lot for one person to take let alone with four others.

Nguyen as Derek tries to keep his military training in mind but has his eyes on everything. Not getting along with Kevin does not help matters but Alison is his main concern. Hayes as Jessi is trying to help where she can but all she can think about is the spouse left behind.

Zuko as Kevin is using the family site as a place for he and Hannah to be alone. When Alison brings her group, there is instant craziness, and all the past family drama cannot help but surface. It is when he sees the lights that everything about Kevin changes. Fierman as Hannah can not seem to keep it together but feels some comfort around Alison and Jessi. Learning about what is happening in the world makes her emotional control even harder to deal with.

Other cast includes Krista Berutti as Theresa and Troy Halverson as the Anchorman.

Mill Creek Entertainment is the home entertainment industry’s leading independent studio for Bluray, DVD and digital distribution. They have a dynamic array of film and television content that reach thousands of websites. From SNOW WHITE, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, 12 MONKEYS and more are made available. Please visit their website at www.millcreekent.com.

The DVD Bonus Features include Audio Commentary from Director Chris Ethridge, Writer/Producer Michael H. Harper, Producer Stacey Palmer and Actress Catherine Taber and Trailer.

HAVEN’S END is a mixture of sci-fi, zombies and what happens when human beings stop trusting one another. Added to that deep seeded unresolved family issues and you have a film that goes chaotic from the start.

Keeping the cast minimal allows the paranoia to set in quickly as their stories are hinted at one by one. When you put people under stress in confined places, well, all sorts of mayhem begins to happen and flashing lights aren’t helping matters. I am sure we can all understand that in the times we are living in.

In the end – when the world dies where do you run?