'The Stranger in Our Bed'

The Stranger in Our Bed is a thriller directed by Giles Alderson and stars Emily Berrington, Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Samantha Bond.

A very British thriller that does not thrill much, if at all.

Plot

A woman leaves her husband for her lover who happens to disappear under mysterious circumstances. When she decides to return with her husband she starts to suspect that something is up, and goes about investigating the disappearance of her former flame.

Review

This is a thriller that pretends and tries to create an ambiance of mystery, and despite its efforts and the good photography, does not quite make the mark as far as atmosphere is concerned.

The premise is not very convincing, and it is not particularly stylized as far as direction goes, which does not keep up a suitable tempo and stumbles in its storytelling using “tricks” of the genre that have always worked, to an extent that they seem overt and overused. With that said, we will admit that some scenes are well directed.

The photography is at times admissible, particularly with interiors where it recurs to chiaroscuro.

The problem with The Stranger in Our Bed is in its assemblage as a movie, which does not seem to work well and therefore appears structurally incoherent, for instance with the insertion of the flashbacks sequences, which if applied better might have given way to a better script and even better premise. But that would result in an entirely different movie altogether.