American Deadbolt

Written and directed by Bryan Redding, American Deadbolt is a tense thriller that examines how trust, survival, and sacrifice play out when people from vastly different backgrounds are forced together. Drawing on themes of political division and human resilience, the film explores what it takes to endure when communication breaks down.

On the Fourth of July, fireworks light the sky above The American diner just as chaos erupts inside. Two armed attackers storm the building, leaving numerous casualties in their wake. Amid the panic, a small group of employees, including Medina (Jade Fernandez), Reynolds (Jayson Warner Smith), Eric (Clifton Duncan), and diner owner Quinn (Jeff Fahey), manage to seal themselves inside Quinn’s fortified safe room. Why does Quinn have a safe room? With no Wi-Fi, cell service, or functioning security system, they have no idea whether the attack is a random shooting or part of something sinister. Moments later, Jessica (Laura Slade Wiggins) is found in the room’s closet, injured and bleeding, and Eric pulls her to the main room. Quinn is also gravely wounded, but no one knows if leaving the safe room to get help will mean certain death.

As the terror begins to settle, tensions among our crew mount, and secrets begin to spill. Reynolds, who was fired by Quinn, demands access to the computer. He says he wants to figure out what’s going on outside, but Quinn refuses to give him the password, handing it to Medina instead. When she logs in, she discovers the attackers have disabled all surveillance feeds, leaving them blind. Medina, a former army medic, tends to Quinn and Jessica’s bullet wounds. Suspicion begins to fester — Jessica doubts Reynolds’ presence is coincidental, and his racist jabs at Eric only deepen the mistrust.

Outside, the attackers’ motives remain unclear, but Reynolds voices his own inflammatory theories, convinced that the shooting is tied to a larger plot. Then, a loud banging echoes through the vent from beyond the door. It’s a man named Mario, who says he’s trapped in the freezer and doesn’t know how long he’ll survive in the cold temperature. The group freezes, unsure if it’s a survivor in need or one of the gunmen trying to get in — leaving them with a brutal choice: take a risk that could save a life or fall into a deadly trap.

Clifton Duncan as Eric searches for answers inside the fortified safe room in American Deadbolt.

“…a brutal choice: take a risk that could save a life or fall into a deadly trap.”

American Deadbolt is a psychological thriller. Writer/director Bryan Redding says that he was, “inspired by the November 2015 Paris attacks, particularly an incident in which U2 frontman Bono was trapped in a restaurant during the assault, The film explores how ordinary people react when chaos erupts, and communication breaks down.”

American Deadbolt is an exercise in trust. Redding opens with an incredible amount of chaos, and when we finally have a chance to meet our crew, heads are spinning, and we’re off with an incredibly engaging story. Now for the next 86 minutes, it’s quite a ride. Good stories have us thinking. What’s going on? Who can we trust? Is the obvious answer the right answer?

Redding’s film boasts several amazing performances. As Reynolds, Jayson Warner Smith creates an unlikable character, but does that mean his motivations are impure? Clifton Duncan is the straight arrow, Eric, the exact opposite of Reynolds. Laura Slade Wiggins and Jade Fernandez as Jessica and Medina are the neutral characters at the start, which probably makes them the most suspicious.

I love a good character study! Redding has designed very distinct characters, their distrust, and conflicts with one another in intriguing and unexpected ways. As we start to understand them, they are tested with the arrival of Mario. Do they make the safe decision and do nothing? Do they open the door to save a life…or is it all a trap?

American Deadbolt delivers a taut and tight exercise in human nature that keeps tensions building from start to finish. The result is a gripping portrait of human behavior in the face of uncertainty and fear.

For more information, visit the official American Deadbolt website.