No Good Deed (2014 film)

Not to be confused with No Good Deed (2002 film).
No Good Deed

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sam Miller
Produced by Will Packer
Lee Clay
Written by Aimée Lagos
Starring Idris Elba
Taraji P. Henson
Music by Paul Haslinger[1]
Cinematography Michael Barrett
Edited by Randy Bricker
Production
company
Will Packer Productions
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release dates
  • September 12, 2014
Running time
 84 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $13.2 million[2]
Box office $54.3 million[2]

No Good Deed is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Sam Miller and written by Aimée Lagos. The film stars Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson, Kate del Castillo, Mark Smith, Henry Simmons, Wilbur Fitzgerald and Frank Brennan. The film was released on September 12, 2014.

Plot

Colin Evans (Idris Elba) is denied parole by the Tennessee Department of Correction, five years into serving a prison term for manslaughter, having killed a man and suspected of killing five women. However, he escapes while being returned to prison, shooting a guard and driver in the process.

In Atlanta, Terri Granger (Taraji P. Henson) is at home with her baby Sam and young daughter Ryan. Her best friend Meg (Leslie Bibb) suggests that Terri relax by sharing a girls night with her. Terri's husband Jeffrey (Henry Simmons) arrives home just long enough to pack for a trip to visit his father, and is unhelpful and impatient with Terri, despite his assurances that he loves her.

Also in Atlanta, Colin stalks a woman named Alexis (Kate del Castillo), who was his fiancee before he went to prison. He confronts her with evidence that she has been unfaithful; after she admits to sleeping with another man, he violently murders her. Later, Colin crashes his Ford Ranger in a storm and walks to Terri's home, arriving at dinner time and asking for her help in getting a tow truck. She invites him inside and tends to a wound on his forehead, while he charms her and Ryan. He opens up about his fiancee having cheated on him. Meg arrives with wine and is attracted to Colin. They share the wine and Colin uses the opportunity of a shared smoke break to manipulate Meg into doubting Terri's honesty before murdering Meg with a shovel and hiding her body. Colin tells Terri that Meg left, but Terri sees Meg's umbrella is still in the house. She also realizes that the phone lines are cut and the kitchen knives are missing. After getting Colin away from Ryan, she attacks him with a fire extinguisher but is unable to escape with the children before he recovers. Holding Terri at gunpoint, Colin forces her to stand in the shower as he washes himself, then makes her undress and change her clothes. Terri expects him to rape her, but he does not. She again attacks him, managing to stab him, but fails to escape.

Colin forces Terri to bring the children and drive him away in her car; as they leave, Terri sees Meg's body. On the road, Terri manages to alert a police officer to the danger she is in; the officer pulls them over, but Colin shoots and kills him before he can help her. Colin makes Terri drive to Alexis' home, where he separates Terri from her children and leaves her tied up in the room with Alexis' body. Terri manages to free herself in time to answer Alexis' ringing phone, and the call turns out to be from Jeffrey, who is trying to confirm that Alexis is meeting him at a hotel. Terri realizes that the encounter with Colin was not random; her husband is the man Alexis was sleeping with, and Colin wants revenge. Terri tells her surprised husband that Alexis is dead and she and their children have been kidnapped. She tells him to send help to Alexis' house. She finds Ryan and Sam and hides them, and then attacks Colin again when he returns. Taking advantage of the stab wound, she gains control of his gun and shoots him repeatedly, causing him to fall out a window to his death.

The police arrive, along with Jeffrey. He apologizes to Terri, but she responds by punching him in the face. Some time later, Terri lives in a new house with Sam and Ryan.

Cast

Production

Filming of No Good Deed began in April 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]

Release

No Good Deed was initially set to be released on October 18, 2013. In January of 2013, Screen Gems announced the film would be moved to open on January 17, 2014, at the beginning of the MLK Holiday weekend. This date conflicted with another Will Packer-produced film, Ride Along, a Universal Pictures release that stars Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. For this reason, in April 2013, the studio pushed back No Good Deed‍ '​s release date for a second time to April 25, 2014. Yet again, in early October 2013 (and giving no specific reason), Screen Gems for a third time pushed backed the release date of the film to September 12, 2014.[4][5] Sony Pictures Releasing debuted the first official trailer for the film on June 12, 2014.[6][7] No Good Deed was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 6, 2015.[8]

Box office

No Good Deed was released on Friday, September 12, 2014. The film was #1 at the domestic box office over the 3-day weekend, grossing $24,250,283 at 2,175 North American theaters ($11,150 per theater average).[9] The film was producer Will Packer's third #1 film of 2014, following Ride Along and Think Like a Man Too.[10] No Good Deed grossed $54,323,210 worldwide.[2]

Reception

No Good Deed has received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 10% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. The site's consensus reads, "Dull, derivative, and generally uninspired, No Good Deed wastes its stars' talents — and the audience's time."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 26 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[12]

The audience for No Good Deed was 60 percent female, 59 percent over the age of 30. Filmgoers gave the movie a "B+" CinemaScore.[9]

Soundtrack

No Good Deed - Music Composed By Paul Haslinger
Soundtrack album
Released September 9, 2014
Genre Score
Label Madison Gate Records

Screen Gems and Madison Gate Records released the soundtrack to the film No Good Deed digitally and physically on September 9, 2014.[13] The 15-track album contains the film's original score composed by Paul Haslinger.[14][15]

"No Good Deed offered a great opportunity to re-explore a style of score I had first developed for the film Vacancy; music designed to enhance psychological qualities in the telling of a story, in this case, a rather dark one. My personal preference for this kind of approach is to mix classic film noir elements with music, sound-design elements; sometimes alternating, sometimes superimposing them. The goal ultimately was to connect the headspace of the characters with that of the audience, to make the audience feel the threads of the story as they watch it unfold. Working off great performances by Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson, this was a unique and rewarding project to be involved with!" - Paul Haslinger.[16]


All music composed by Paul Haslinger.

No. Title Length
1. "On This Day"   2:19
2. "The Parole Hearing"   1:24
3. "The Accident"   1:15
4. "Leaving For The Weekend"   1:14
5. "Watching Alexis"   0:59
6. "17 Creston Lane"   1:01
7. "It Is All A Game"   2:31
8. "At The Door"   1:21
9. "Please Come Home"   1:21
10. "We Have To Leave"   1:54
11. "The Traffic Stop"   2:49
12. "Why Are You Doing This?"   1:31
13. "Your Girlfriend Is Dead"   2:42
14. "Fight For Life"   1:24
15. "Terry's New Beginnings"   2:03
Total length:
 26:29

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Paul Haslinger Scoring ‘No Good Deed’". Film Music Reporter. October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "No Good Deed (2014) - Box Office Mojo". September 12, 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Blay, Zeba (March 3, 2012). "Idris Elba and Taraji P Henson join 'No Good Deed'". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sony/Screen Gems Pushes Release Date For 'No Good Deed' To April 2014". indiewire.com. April 15, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ Obenson, Tambay A. (October 10, 2013). "For The 3rd Time, Screen Gems Pushes Back Release Date For 'No Good Deed' - By 5 Months". Indiewire. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  6. ↑ Anderton, Ethan (13 June 2014). "Idris Elba Invades Tiraji P. Henson's Home in 'No Good Deed' Trailer". firstshowing.net. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5VeowxERwM
  8. ↑ "Surprise Box Office Hit ‘No Good Deed’ Coming to Blu-Ray DVD in January". Indiewire. November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Subers, Ray (September 14, 2014). "Weekend Report: 'No Good Deed' Succeeds, 'Guardians' Passes $300 Million". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ Clark, Trent (September 15, 2014). "Will Packer Scores Third #1 Movie of 2014 With No Good Deed". Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  11. ↑ "No Good Deed". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "No Good Deed Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ "No Good Deed Soundtrack List". Soundtrack Mania. September 9, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ "‘No Good Deed’ Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. September 8, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ "No Good Deed Soundtrack (2014)". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ Obenson, Tambay A. (September 9, 2014). "Exclusive: The 'No Good Deed' Soundtrack Is Out Today. Listen to One of Its Tracks". Indiewire. Retrieved January 10, 2015.

External links