Leave the World Behind

In 1996 a film entitled "The Trigger Effect" came out starring, Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue, and Dermot Mulroney. I was somewhat obsessed by it. I would insist people watch it. The premise was simple - what happens if the power goes out? Chaos, panic, and mistrust of our fellow humans is what happens, at least in "The Trigger Effect." In 2003 the power grid in Ontario and a good chunk of the northeastern US actually went out for about 12-24 hours; longer in some places. 2003 being a recent post 911 world, whispers of terrorism were rumored - it was actually a software bug. Society remained intact and no mass lootings or deaths were reported. Now, 20 years after the North American blackout, Netflix has given us, "Leave the World Behind," staring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon in another gripping apocalyptic thriller. It's kind of like an updated version of "The Trigger Effect" if you mashed it with M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock at the Cabin" (which came out at the beginning of this year). "Leave the World Behind" gripped me for the entire 2 hour and 20 minute runtime. Julia Roberts. Fantastic. I loved her in this. There are two scenes - one where she is dancing with Mahershala Ali and another where she is screaming at deer with actor Myha'la Herrold. Just fantastic. It's unfortunate Netflix has chosen to give the movie such a limited theatrical release when it's such a big screen film. You will be able to catch it streaming on December 8th, on Netflix. Don't leave this one behind. You can also grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff.