Parents' Guide to 10x10

There's no wildly unexpected twist in this psychological thriller, but the movie does well at feeding the audience gradual pieces of the puzzle and leaving them eager to see how it comes together. Given 10x10 is mainly a two-hander and set mostly in the same location, both Reilly and Evans do a decent job of keeping the narrative moving, even though the pace slows a few times within the 88-minute runtime. There are no real heroes here. There are pasts and motives sketched out clearly, but not developed with great complexity. While both Lewis and Cathy have suffered tragedies in their own ways, it's difficult to connect emotionally with them or feel particularly invested in either of them. Where the film does come to life a little more is in the fight scenes. The dynamic is certainly not your average "victim/perpetrator," and either character can surprise at any minute with a grisly blow. The finale, in particular, starts to move into horror territory with its levels of bloody chaos, but the scariest part remains the kidnapping in broad daylight in a busy parking lot. For a first feature, director Ewing does a solid job at a sleek, watchable, but not particularly unique thriller.