Crumb Catcher Film Review

Star rating: 3/5

Writer: Chris Skotchdopole

Director: Chris Skotchdopole

Starring: Rigo Caray, Ella Peck, Lorraine Farris and John Speredakos

Crumb Catcher is a sumptuous, ominous and tense thriller.

It all starts very nicely, in the morning after the wedding of the two main characters, Shane, a writer, and Leah, a publisher, an American couple in their late twenties. On occasion of them getting married, they are giving an interview about Shein’s new book, which Leah has helped publish- closely binding the personal and professional. We quickly realise something does not seem to have gone quite well as Shane gets flashbacks of something he cannot quite remember. After the interview, as they leave for the honeymoon, the strangely clingy waiter at the party holds them up in their car to give them their cake. After managing to end the conversation with the waiter, and a long drive through American forest, they arrive at their honeymoon house, borrowed from Leah’s boss. In there, it all unravels.

Crumb Catcher is technically beautiful. Close up shots of the couple, a deeply expressive wide shot of Leah, ominous close ups of the car rear lamps flashing red, a birds-eye-view shots of the thick woodland they are driving through, the film is of really high quality aesthetically. The cinematography and set design are deeply complementary, with autumnal light and earthy colours of the interiors working their magic visually. Meanwhile, the sound design really does justice to the film’s thriller genre, really playing with the sound of the characters’ physical movement and their breath for sound.

In terms of the story, it is deeply gripping at the beginning, with an entertaining middle. The ending however feels excessively drawn out, tense to the point of it being easy for the viewer to tune out. It is saved somewhat by the actors’ performances. Both Rigor Caray, who plays Shane, and Ella Peck, who plays Leah deliver thought out, intentional performance that bring the character’s vulnerability to the surface. Lorraine Farris and John Speredakos go all out, fearlessly portraying the unhinged characters of John, the previously-mentioned waiter and his wife Rose. The ending is saved by their performances.

Crumb Catcher is a thriller of high narrative, dramatic and technical quality, although its conclusion stressfully disappoints. Notwithstanding, there is a lot to like about this film.