THIS TEMPTING MADNESS
Finding the truth
This Tempting Madness is available on Video-on-Demand now. Trigger warnings for discussions of abuse and mental illness.
Jennifer E. Montgomery’s directorial debut, co-written with Andrew Davis, is a twisting, mostly entertaining thriller that is anchored by a stunning lead performance from Simone Ashley, as well as strong support from Suraj Sharma.
Inspired by real injuries suffered by a friend, Montgomery weaves the psychological horror of short-term memory loss with wince-inducing surgical body horror.
Indeed, one of the big strengths of the film is its willingness to explore the physical trauma of injuries, and not just the mental impact. After suffering a brutal fall, Mia (Ashley) wakes up the hospital with no memory of what happened. Instead, her family, including brother Ajay (Sharma), have to tell her that her husband Jake (Austin Stowell) has been arrested for attempted murder.
From here, Mia must uncover what happened to her, piecing together her memories, while dealing with the police, her own family’s feelings about Jake, and her various injuries. Ashley is brilliant in the role. Even at points where the script falls into cliché or melodrama, she puts in a pitch perfect performance that genuinely carries the film.
This is especially clear where she is paired with Sharma. The pair share a believable chemistry, adding levity at points, and real emotional clout when events start to come to a head. Stowell is less convincing as Jake. It feels like some influence from the real-life case of Rey Rivera was also taken in the writing of the story, but Stowell is not credible as the increasingly paranoid character, who may or may not have tried to kill his partner.
There are also the effects. Both the CGI used during the bone crunching fall that kickstarts the film, and the practical effects when Mia is going through the various medical procedures. It’s a clear, visual approach to showing the ongoing trauma, that the film is forced to abandon as the weeks go on and Mia heals up.
And it’s at the two-thirds mark that the film loses footing. It becomes more reliant on Mia’s fractured psyche, which slips into well-worn tropes about multiple personalities, building to a reveal that has been clearly signposted. The film loses pace, and becomes more outlandish, pulling away from its dark beginning and becoming a series of scenes that are designed to build tension, even at the expense of the story.
It positions Montgomery as a stable hand as a director and writer, one with a keen eye for performances but who struggles to craft a satisfying ending. This is a fun, often effective debut that is unlikely to stick in the memory after the credits roll.
Director: Jennifer E. Montgomery
Writers: Jennifer E. Mongomery, Andrew Davis
Starring: Simone Ashley, Austin Stowell, Suraj Sharma, Mojean Aria, Amol Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Auden Thornton
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