Sister's Keeper (Region 1 Edition)   Starring: Kent Faulcon, Denise Boutte and Eric Roberts MTI Home Video RRP: $24.95 039414521337 Certificate: R Available 15 June 2010

Hit man Jacob Tate (Kent Faulcon) is sent, by his handler (Eric Roberts) to a small southern town to eliminate an English teacher, Diane (Denise Boutte). Diane mistakes Jacob for her long-lost brother. Deciding to use this case of mistaken identity as a way to get close to her for a clean kill, Tate is soon drawn into her family. Ultimately he has to choose between carrying out his hit or trying to figure out who would want her dead...

Sister’s Keeper (2008 - 1 hr, 41 min, 40 sec) is an indie thriller written and directed by Kent Faulcon. The film won the Audience Award at the 2007 Hollywood Black Film Festival.

Independent films tend to come in two flavours: the pretty dire, which are poorly acted and derivative; and those where the talents of the writer and director surpass the modest budget. In the case of Sister’s Keeper Faulcon has squeezed the last penny to create a thriller on par with some of its more expensive cousins.

Although the plot is not stunningly original there are enough twists to keep audience interest high, not least because the acting is believable and Faulcon’s direction professional.

Denise Boutte and Faulcon have chemistry as the two leads and apart from some minor quibbles the plot is well structured and the director maintains a brisk pace throughout. From a technical stand point Faulcon knows how to use a camera and the framing of his film gives it a professional sheen.

Overall an impressive effort for a small budget movie, the disc I received was the usual screener with no extras, apart for the theatrical trailer (1 min, 33 sec), but apparently the finished product should have a 5.1 audio track and an aspect ratio of 16:9 and include a directors commentary, deleted scenes, cast auditions, cast and crew biographies and optional Spanish subtitles.

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Charles Packer