Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Joseph Ruben, Roadshow Entertainment.
A reclusive, but gifted photo-journalist lives quietly in a New York penthouse, until a sadistic criminal – looking for a hidden fortune – enters her life.
Sara Taylor (Michelle Monaghan, Mission Impossible III) lives quietly in a fortress-like home until she becomes the target of psychological and physical torture in this tense, suspense-filled thriller. She lost her sight when she was victim to a suicide bomber while on assignment in the Middle East.
Sara is compelled to play a lethal game of cat-and-mouse with a merciless criminal, Hollander (Michal Keaton, Batman) who stops at nothing to get a fortune in stolen diamonds he believes are hidden in Sara’s expensive rooftop dwelling.
Although Sara claims she doesn’t know where the diamonds are, Hollander utilises psychological and physical torture in an effort to break her resistance. Sara fights back. The suspense builds.
It was after shopping one New Year’s Eve, she arrives home and – eventually – realises her boyfriend, Ryan (Andrew W. Walker) has been murdered and the killer is still in the apartment.
It appears Ryan used to be involved in some shady business and made off with a fortune worth of diamonds. Now they have come back to collect.
The trepidation builds as Sara walks around the flat unaware Ryan is dead until she slips in a pool of his blood and becomes the victim of a knife-wielding maniac, Chad (Barry Sloane).
Her cloistered lifestyle is shattered, but she refuses to become a victim. Instead she meets the assault with resistance, defying the odds, fighting back and turning the tables on the perpetrator.
No surprises are on offer in David Loughery’s screenplay and Penthouse North lacks taut suspense moments. While the characters perform well, Keaton is the highlight. It’s pleasant to see him play a villain, which he does quite well. Monaghan tries, but is not quite believable.
Director Ruben (Sleeping with the Enemy, The Forgotten) delivers a nightmare that only leaves a transient impression.
