In upstate New York, two teenage boys are tasked with cleaning out their father's old mobile home on an abandoned property, only to run afoul of fleeing big-city criminals who have taken refuge in the trailer.
Mr. Fessenden's ambition is admirable, and there's more than a little raw skill on display. If this, his first feature, isn't always worth recommending, his talents are certainly worth encouraging.
The auteur's age, precociousness and pedigree automatically make "Stray Bullets" an item of interest, although fans of the Fessenden clan will be pleased to know that the movie's also pretty entertaining and only a little bit amateurish.
Fessenden is literally sixteen years old - it's impossible not to give the film kudos for being a not-bad genre exercise that shows promise for its precocious director.
An enjoyably blood-soaked thriller with unexpectedly lyrical interludes -- made very much in the shadow of classic genre forebears and on what was clearly a constrained budget -- this is a strikingly impressive calling-card.
Though this suspense drama about two small-town youths who run afoul of fleeing big-city criminals feels a couple story beats short of a satisfying whole, it's admirably well-crafted within its mostly savvy limitations.
