Once in a while, a smaller production comes along that is
an exciting, little cracker of a movie. Burning Bright is one such surprise
package.
World weary Kelly Taylor wants to move away from her little autistic
brother and uncaring stepfather. The stepfather instead siphons off the money
meant for her education and begins to set up a zoo near their home. One stormy night,
with the house boarded up against an impending hurricane, Kelly and her
brother find themselves locked up in the house with a starving tiger.
Quickly running out of places to hide and with only
drywall as a barrier, can Kelly survive this without sacrificing her sibling?
The movie has ‘small budget’ stamped all over it but that
doesn’t really work against the story as the claustrophobic atmosphere ups the
tension factor. Apart from the one instance of special effects that is cringe
worthy, the rest of the movie works fairly well in the single location setting.
Briana Evigan was fairly competent in Step up 2. She doesn’t
disappoint here either, as a frustrated young woman who is gamely trying to get
out of a sticky situation.
The largest expense in this movie was probably the tiger
and while not given enough screen time IMHO (budget optimization?), it is a beautiful animal. The
scene where it tries to get at Kelly in the pipe is thrilling. As an added treat, the tiger isn’t bumped off at the end.
(Yay!)
Recommended.
