‘When It Rains in LA’ Review: An Ambitious Thriller That Misses the Mark
When It Rains in LA could have been better if it narrowed its focus.
What is When It Rains in LA About?
When It Rains in LA takes elements of a slasher movie, a crime thriller, a drama, and a curse movie to create a very odd mashup.
After the sudden death of her husband, Sasha travels to Los Angeles to spend time with her friends. A constant rain seems to follow Sasha to her temporary home, and a pair of mysterious people are also on her trail. The night of Sasha’s arrival in rain-soaked LA will be deadly.
When IT Rains in LA stars Monroe Cline as Sasha. Co-starring as Sasha’s friends are Taylor Brianna, Natasha Stricklin, Paris Simone, and Felix Merback. Mike Ferguson and Leslie Stratton are also featured as the strangers following Sasha, and Eric Roberts makes a cameo as Sasha’s doomed husband. When It Rains in LA was written by John Sillup and directed by David M. Parks.
When It Rains in LA Review
If the above description of the movie’s plot sounds a little vague, that’s because the movie is rather vague. It’s difficult to determine exactly what is happening throughout the majority of the run time, but not in a way that’s exciting or interesting. It just feels like a series of mundane events, followed by a brief home invasion with a twist.
From the opening scenes, it’s clear that this movie needed a lot more time and care put into it. When It Rains in LA opens on a suburban street, then transitions to stock footage of an Italian coastal city (one of the shots is definitely of Positano) which we are to assume is the setting, which then goes back to the interior of a very American-looking home. The discontinuity is carried over into the scene, where the eyelines of characters are all over the place, line deliveries barely feel like characters are talking to each other, and clothing drastically changes position from shot to shot.
Some technical mistakes like these are fine. It happens. But the abundance of them in this movie is distracting. A particular flub that happens at least twice and is unintentionally hilarious is when characters whisper or just mouth their lines, but there is no music or background noise to make up for the missing sound. In fact, the whispers can still be heard. One would assume the actors were told to do this for purposes of sound, such as when lines are being recorded for the principal actors, and the background actors can’t make any noise. But here, it is the main actors on screen doing this. It’s quite strange, but it’s also amusing, such as when Sasha is buying a plane ticket and is half-whispering in a completely silent airport.
Moving away from the technical side to the creative aspects of When It Rains in LA, it’s not a whole lot better. Scenes are awkward and tend to have strangers who get way too personal with the lead characters way too quickly. The movie goes on more than a few meaningless tangents which are seemingly there mostly to fill time. The only real story developed is directly related only to Sasha, and none of the minor plot threads among the supporting characters go anywhere. The movie tries to do too much with too many characters, when a sharper focus on Sasha and the death of her husband could have possibly increased the tension and drama.
Then, in the end, there’s a twist. By the time you get there though, the only impact it elicits is a minor shrug.
When It Rains in LA Rating and Recommendation
Star Rating: 1 out of 5
You’re completely safe to skip When It Rains in LA. It gets one star here for the scene where a killer puts broken glass on a toilet seat, and his sneaky plan to cut someone’s backside works.
Further Reading
- Model House Review: A Home Invasion Thriller with a Remarkable Cast
- Kromoleo Review: An Average Indonesian Curse Movie
- The Yorkie Werewolf Review: A Surprisingly Funny and Completely Ridiculous Horror Comedy
- Terrible Gifts Given in Horror Movies
- Horror Movies About Curses
