How To Deter A Robber is a darkly comedic home invasion thriller from debut writer/director, Maria Bissell. It follows a stubborn young woman, Madison (Vanessa Marano) and her naïve boyfriend, Jimmy (Benjamin Papac), who are stuck in a cabin out in a cold and isolated Northern Wisconsin town with Madison’s family during Christmas. The couple sneak out of their cabin to spend some much needed alone time after an awkward family dinner in a cabin next door, one that is supposed to be empty. However, the place gets robbed while they spent the night, which gets the attention of the police.
Because they are persons-of-interest for the robbery, the young couple are forced to stay in town, living with their Uncle Andy (Chris Mulkey) at the family cabin. They soon find out that there have been a string of robberies in the area. Growing more paranoid about the potential of coming face to face with intruders, they setup the cabin with various traps to ensure their safety, as well as arming themselves with BB guns. Eventually, the two intruders Patrick (Sonny Valicenti) and Christine (Abbie Cobb), do make their way to the cabin right when Maria, Jimmy, and Uncle Andy are at their most vulnerable and unsuspecting.
The robbers turn out to be not the brightest criminals. Christine in particular spends a lot of time being weirdly considerate to Maria, Jimmy, and Uncle Andy as they’re all tied up, offering them glasses of water, with straws, and leaving behind items with sentimental value. It’s her first time having hostages, you see. Cobb does a fantastic job since for the most part, she has her mask on, and has to get so much personality across through her body language. Patrick is not so kind. He is as inexperienced as Christine, but he is more likely to snap under pressure, which brings a fun dynamic.
When Uncle Andy ends up unconscious, Maria and Christine are forced to think on their feet in the hidden basement while the robbers look for them around the house. While some of the characters’ antics and banter are comedic in nature, the situation itself is presented with a real sense of danger. It’s a solid balance overall as Bissell tries to juggle all these characters and the numerous setups and payoffs that are littered throughout the script. And along with that, she proves to be smart enough to not lose sight of the humanity behind these characters.
If there are any drawbacks to How To Deter A Robber, it’s mostly minor stuff. There’s not a ton of substance here, and whenever it comes close to actually saying something about experiencing rough patches in relationships or the awkward stages of coming into your own as an adult, it mostly pulls back, and gets back to shenanigans. I find it to be fairly forgivable here because it’s clear the film just wants to be a fun little b-movie, and it doesn’t demand too much of your time, barely crossing the 85 minute mark. This is a film that is driven by personality and humor, and those two things go a long way when done well, and for the most part, it’s done well. The cast is charming and have great comedic chemistry, and the humor delivers. Maria Bissell’s instincts as a storyteller are really solid here, and she sets herself up as a promising filmmaker. It’s not gonna change your life, but you’ll probably have a good time.
How To Deter A Robber will be out in select theaters and VOD platforms on July 16th.