A distraught mother finds herself in the car of a serial killer.
Written by Nathan Illsley and directed by Richard Friedman, this horror thriller takes place in large part inside of a car and really makes the most of it. The film does take time to establish the lead, Shannon Donner, as well as her situation being a divorcing mother who is about to possibly lose all custody of her son due to alcohol abuse and mistakes made while under the influence. Here, she is presented at rock bottom, reaching for alcohol before being taken by a man who may be the serial killer shown earlier in the film. The story takes her and her situation, crosses path with the killer, and leads to the both of them facing off in his car and this face off is one that is interesting to watch in that she has a lot going and makes points for her own demise at times as well as making points as to why she should live. The film takes this and adds a bunch of tension as well as some solid writing and direction to make it interesting and a film to watch with focus. There is both not a lot and a lot going on, if that makes sense, and the film makes the most of it as well as its main location in a car. (On a side note, the driving in Las Vegas will drive some crazy as the Strip is not seen in order that it normally is, and some casinos seem to be on the wrong side of the road as they drive past one and the next, a smaller issue to most, a larger one to those used to driving the Strip.)
The cast here is led by Augie Duke and Vince Lozano who has a great angry/pissed off/star-antagonist back and forth here, giving them both a lot to work with and giving them meaty conversations to have in the car. Augie Duke really takes this part and makes the most of it, giving a performance that is emotional and connected while also going a great job of appearing drunk in a “used to it’ sort of way. Her part here is central and she shows a great understanding of the work needed for it to be realistic and natural. Playing the kidnapper/serial killer Lozano commands his scenes and is creepy in just the right way. HIs cool composure hiding something more sinister works great here and makes for a solid presence on screen. Some moments, he is quite reminiscent of William Forsythe in mannerisms and presence. The rest of the cast is decent but in most cases do not get enough screen time to really see an arc or how their performances go. Ayden Lozano as Alby Donner does get a bit more screen time and he does well.
In terms of look, the film does quite well with its main location inside a car with cinematography by Neil Casey (and team) who makes use of the cramped space and limited angles for this. The work is solid in a car and in other scenes. The limitations in terms of space, movements, and light really work to the film’s advantage here.
Thou Shalt Kill is a solid thriller with some truly tense scenes and acting that really sells the story. A few elements are not on point (like the above-mentioned issue with the driving on the Strip), but overall this is a solid lower budget outing.