Danika (2006): Movie Review

DIRECTED BY

• Ariel Vromen

PRODUCED BY

• Lorena David
• John Parenteau
• Mark A. Roberts
• Daniel Bickel (uncredited)

WRITTEN BY

• Joshua Leibner

STARRING

• Marisa Tomei as Danika Merrick
• Craig Bierko as Randy Merrick
• Regina Hall as Evelyn Harris
• Nicki Prian as Lauren
• Kyle Gallner as Kurt Merrick
• Ridge Canipe as Brian Merrick
• Hannah Marks as Lizzie Geralds

MUSIC BY

• Gilad Benamram

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Darko Suvak

EDITING BY

• Dabby Rafic
  

RUNNING TIME

• 79 minutes

TRAILER

PLOT (SPOILER FREE)

"Danika Merrick (Marisa Tomei) suffers from increasingly disturbing paranoid delusions. Most of her delusions involve threats to her family and media-fueled fears such as child kidnappings, car accidents, her children lying, and terrorism. Danika confides to her husband, Randy (Craig Bierko), and Evelyn (Regina Hall), her psychiatrist."

Danika is a movie that makes you think way too much. Yes, it does, trust me. There wasn't much information about the movie on Wikipedia. Fortunately, the budget information was there. The budget was estimated to be $5 million. But there wasn't any information about the revenue. Well, I guess it's okay because the movie was only released on DVD. I'm sure I can get that information from IMDB Pro, but I don't have a IMDB Pro account. Anyway, the movie was released on DVD in the United States on December 26, 2006. And guess what? The movie got an award for "Best Film" at the San Diego Film Festival in 2006. Yeah, it deserves it, but unfortunately, not everyone will like Danika.

As you might have noticed, the plot from Wikipedia is really short, and it's spoiler free. And of course, to know more is to watch. Watching the trailer will give you a better idea on what type of movie Danika is. One other thing is that this movie is not for everyone to watch. The movie is put under the horror and thriller category. To me, the movie was much more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie. The movie is scary, but in a very different way. And the one thing that I hated a lot was the fact that the DVD cover was totally misleading. When you see the cover, you'll definitely assume that the movie might be similar to movies like The Grudge, or The Ring. Simply because there's a picture of a scary looking little girl. But Danika is nothing like that. Danika has got nothing to do with any creepy looking weirdo type girls. The girl on the front cover does appear in the movie, but not really in the way you would expect. The little girl hardly has anything to do with the movie actually. It just really bothers me how the cover gives a wrong impression.

So, I was saying that this movie isn't for everyone to watch and not everyone will like it. Yes, it's true, but I loved it. If you like movies that make you think, make you wonder and even make you not want to leave in the middle of a movie for any reason, then, this movie is for you. Danika will get you glued to the screen, simply because of the curiosity of the human mind, wanting to know what is actually going on in Danika. There isn't much action in this movie, because it's not an action movie. It's a psychological thriller that will make you think all the way through the movie. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of meaning to the story, but unfortunately, I didn't really understand it. I watched the movie twice, but I still couldn't really figure out what the movie was actually about. It was after browsing through the comments of IMDB users, I felt that I understood the movie a little more. But, I'm still unclear of certain things. The beauty of this movie is probably the challenge it will give you into thinking which parts of the movie is real and which part is not. It's actually simple, but not an easy task to accomplish. Another thing is that after watching this movie, you might end up having more than one conclusion. It's just the way the movie was taken. It was taken in such a way that it can be really confusing. But to watch this movie, you do have to pay very close attention.

One final note I want to make is that Marisa Tomei did a splendid job. She plays a delusional woman, who has disturbing visions. Trust me, the role she was put to play was not an easy one. She did a very good job in playing that role and I think she can have the viewers convinced that the viewers are the ones that are actually delusional, and not her. She performed that well.

So, when you get a chance, try to watch this movie and tell me what you think about it. I've seen many people complaining about the movie because it doesn't make sense. But just ignore those people and watch it for yourself. You might like it, or maybe not. But you'll definitely get confused. Just so you know, Danika does have some sexual content and coarse language, so this movie isn't suitable for younger audiences. And if you need some answers after watching the movie, a drop by at IMDB will certainly help.

Final Verdict: 3 / 5