With a title as ambiguous as Crumb Catcher, you begin to apply it to everything you are given at the beginning of the film. Shane (Rigo ) are celebrating at their wedding reception. Leah is a publisher and Shane has just penned a gritty recollection of his father’s life that Leah is about to publish. She needs him and, he needs her. It’s a marriage of necessity. Leah’s fussy family is on top of every detail and they are around every corner. That’s when Shane gives up and starts to drink. Make that, Shane starts to drink hard. So hard, in fact, that his wedding night is a blur. Something happens alright and we spend the movie picking up the crumbs, so to speak, in an attempt to piece together the full meal. Written by Chris Skotchdopole, Larry Fessenden, Rigo Garay and directed by Skotchdopole in his feature debut, Crumb Catcher is a sleek, well-written, slightly monotone thriller that succeeds on account of overall sharp plot work and a stellar performance by John Speredakos.

After blacking out at his wedding Shane wakes up in his hotel room still in his tuxedo. Leah fumbles into the hotel room and insists they get on the road right away to get to their honeymoon destination, a luxury home in the woods. The two share a mostly silent ride, occasionally sharing witty banter like timid olive branches to each other. It is clear that they both want to resolve an issue. That’s when Shane gets a text from an unknown number. He asks who he is texting with and the response is, “This is Rose.” Who is Rose? The dread mounts as Shane tries to recall just what happened on his wedding night while he and his bride make their way to a beautiful post-nuptial escape in a luxury home. Skotchdopole flexes his talent in building a mysterious threat by hitting the audience with multiple possibilities.

Later that night, wedding server and budding inventor John (Speredakos) arrives at the doorstep of their honeymoon mansion. He not only wants to hand them their missing cake topper, but he has a pitch. John has a revolutionary idea that will change fine dining forever. The Crumb Catcher. Initially disinterested and impatient, Shane is put in his place when John’s assistant Rose reveals a damning bit of evidence depicting what happened when Shane blacked out. What plays out is a crackling, if consistently paced, thriller. Rose (Lorraine Farris) shows up, of course, and the uncomfortable mind games begin.

Writers Skotchdopole, Fessenden, and Garay know how to construct a story.  Crumb Catcher thrives on a low simmer of possible conflicts, keeping the audience on edge. I would have just loved to see a more pronounced sense of rhythm to the story beats via Skotchdopole’s direction. It doesn’t kill the film but keeps it slow and steady rather than sporadic and surprising.  Speredakos shines as the mysterious figure that pushes wedding cakes and vacuums. He is the introvert’s nightmare with his contagious verbalization. While props must be given to Garay and Peck for their lead turns, Farris steals the movie as Rose. Her gaunt, twitchy, yet glamorous performance is comically tragic.

Crumb Catcher is a solid effort from Skotchdopole and a worthy watch if you seek a classic suspense thriller. Every character in the film, if you will forgive the minor spoiler, is a Crumb Catcher and they all suck.