An unidentified stalker records video of married couple James and Amy Deakin as they hide their spare key outside their home. When the couple leaves to go jogging, he uses the key to enter their home and set up hidden security cameras in each room. He also makes subtle changes, such as setting their alarm to go off earlier and leaving a mix CD in their car. Amy protests when the alarm wakes her up early, and the two argue over who recorded the mix CD.
When James finds the audio tracks on his computer, Amy considers the mystery solved, but James insists that he never downloaded them. As they argue, James dismisses Amy’s PhD research on Afghan culture as a waste of time, and she refuses to speak to him. The next morning, as James leaves for work, he writes her a brief apology. The stalker enters the house, reads the note, and records video of Amy’s reaction to noise that she hears in the house.
When James returns home, he finds a note ostensibly written in Amy’s handwriting in which she says that she has left to clear her head. James attempts to contact Amy many times, but she does not answer her calls. Worried, he calls her friends, including Amy’s sister Katherine, with whom he has an antagonistic relationship. James refuses to explain the situation to Katherine, and she becomes suspicious that something has happened between Amy and James.
James eventually turns to his friend Alex, who suggests that their childhood acquaintance Bill may be involved. James contacts Bill, an Afghanistan veteran who now works nights at an animal shelter, and he apologizes for tormenting Bill mercilessly during their school years. Although Bill accepts both the apology and a gift, a collectable baseball, he says little except that the apology does not negate the bullying.
Later, James comes to believe that his cat has been replaced when he receives taunting e-mails and the cat exhibits uncharacteristic behavior. A police officer files a report but does not take James’ claims seriously. When James finds the remains of his decapitated cat and video surveillance evidence that an intruder entered his home, he contacts the police again, but the police remain skeptical, as the cat’s remains have gone missing.
388 Arletta Avenue is a 2011 Canadian horror-thriller film written and directed by Randall Cole and starring Nick Stahl and Mia Kirshner as an unhappily married couple who are unknowingly stalked by an intruder. It premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, had a limited release in Canada in June 2012, and was released on DVD in September 2012.
388 Arletta Avenue (2012)
Directed by: Randall Cole
Starring: Nick Stahl, Mia Kirshner, Devon Sawa, Aaron Abrams, Charlotte Sullivan, Krista Bridges, Martin Roach, Graham Abbey, Kyle Labine, Daniel Lévesque, David Reale
Screenplay by: Randall Cole
Production Design by: Peter Cosco
Cinematography by: Gavin Smith
Film Editing by: Kathy Weinkauf
Costume Design by: Patrick Antosh
Set Decoration by: David Edgar
Art Direction by: Ian Hall, John Moran
Distributed by: Entertainment One
Release Date: May 18, 2012
Hits: 111
