After a being enthralled by her favorite movie, a young girl embarks on a quest as a matchmaker and manipulates two strangers into loving one another, with horrific consequences.

Side-eye and deception abound it the terminally frustrating new thriller TRESPASSERS arriving from IFC Midnight this week. Featuring a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance by Fairuza Balk, the film spins a yarn about two couples reconnecting at a rental home that contains a very dangerous item that a group of criminals will stop at nothing to get.

The film begins boldly enough with a group of thugs kidnapping a couple from their very posh Mojave luxury home and dragging them further out into the desert. After demanding to know where “it” is, they promptly kill the both of them. I am no strategic mastermind, but killing the people you are trying to get info from might hinder things. Forgive me, I digress. After the titles roll, two couples arrive at the same house for a little Air B&B getaway, totally unaware of the volatile item hidden in the house.

Sarah (Angela Trimbur) and Joseph (Zach Avery) arrive first and explore the home finding no trace of the owners that were suppose to be there to hand over the keys and uncovering, rather quickly, a hidden darkroom for developing photos. Shortly after, old highschool girlfriend Estelle (Janel Parrish) and her coke-snorting boyfriend Victor (Jonathan Howard) arrive. There are the cursory revelations here in act one that I will not spoil and we get a deeper understanding of the tangled mess that is the lives of our main characters.

That night The Visitor (Fairuza Balk) arrives posing as a neighbor with a broken down car who needs to use the phone. Skipping the blips in logic there, the couples allow her in and that is when the story takes its supposedly unpredictable turns for the worse.

I cannot remember the last time I have been so frustrated by a thriller on so many levels. The concept of a group of individuals renting a home, unaware of its dangerous contents is a solid one. Yet Corey Deshon‘s clunky script jettisons any logic with reckless abandon. The characters, none of whom are the slightest bit relatable, much less likable, make decisions that boggle the mind and act out like petulant children. That’s not to mention the performances on display. God bless Fairuza Balk who, when she arrives on the screen, never has the need to raise her voice, flail her arms, or otherwise demand the viewer’s attention. She acts circles around the other actors with nothing more than a few lines and a magnetic presence.

As far as the production I would have to deliver a sternly furrowed brow to director Orson Oblowitz for looking at the script, as is, and saying yes. He certainly does everything that he can to infuse the proceedings with an erotic thriller feel. In fact, his secret weapon here is the beautiful cinematography by Noah Rosenthal. The film looks like a Verhoeven suspense movie, then turns on a dime to give us high-contrast colors that repel from the screen. There are some beautifully crafted shots that show a range of stylings from subtle to garish. Very nicely done.

I hate giving poor notes to a collection of obviously talented people but dammit, this one stunk. There is so much in this movie that leaves you with a “why didn’t they just…?” thought in your head. Couple that with the mostly poor performances and you have what I would consider a hard pass.  I think this movie would have been far more interesting if we focused on Balk’s character, The Visitor, and told the story from her obtuse point of view. Then we might have had a thriller worth watching.