Crush

REVIEW
This unnerving psychological thriller is infused with a brooding sense of doom. Set against the bubbling geysers of rural New Zealand, the story examines themes of passion, betrayal, desire, jealousy, seduction and revenge. Two women, Lane (Harden) and Christina (Rees), are involved in a car accident, leaving Christina severly injured and Lane (whose carelessness was the cause of the accident) unscathed. Lane inexplicably abandons her comatose friend, eventually befriending a novelist, Colin, and his 15-year-old boyish daughter, Angela. Angela, in turn, befriends the slowly recovering Christina, thereby precipitating an emotional showdown between the characters. A twisted, stylish, tension-filled feature which works best when delving into the three women's constantly shifting relationships and subtle sexual games.