The Trigger Effect

Americans are dependent on their television, their stereos and their telephones. The loss of those "creature comforts" can make even the most tranquil person irritable - over time, of course.

But "The Trigger Effect," a new suspense-drama from writer-director David Koepp, suggests that chaos would erupt almost instantaneously, largely because of misunderstandings and miscommuni-ca-tions. That quick illogical jump, as well as some surprisingly cliched dialogue and situations, make the film too difficult to really like.

Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks") and Elisabeth Shue ("Leaving Las Vegas") star as Matt and Annie, a young married couple living in an upscale suburb of Los Angeles. When an electromagnetic pulse knocks out all electrical power, telephones and broadcast signals for miles, it strains their somewhat tenuous relationship (Matt is more conservative, while Annie, despite having a child, still yearns for the wild side).

Outside, all heck has broken loose, with rumors circulating about mass looting and murder. At one point, even Matt joins in the chaos when he steals prescription medicine for his sick child.

Complicating things further is the arrival of Joe (Dermot Mulroney), a single friend of Matt's who the couple takes in after the blackout. The more free-spirited Joe convinces Matt to buy a gun and carries on a brief extramarital flirtation with Annie.

After a neighbor shoots and kills a knife-wielding robber who is fleeing their house, the trio decides that even home isn't safe anymore, and opts to leave the city, only to find that the very same problems are happening throughout the state.

The points Koepp wants to make - that society depends too heavily on technology and that close families even have problems communicating these days - are valid. But the film would have been better off if he hadn't be so prone to sen-sa-tion-a-lize things. If the erosion of society had taken place more gradually, for instance, the movie certainly would have been more interesting.

Koepp asks all the easy questions but doesn't provide any serious answers. Instead, he even fudges on telling us what caused the statewide blackout in the first place.

Also, the first-time director (who has co-written quite a few films, including "Jurassic Park") doesn't sustain enough tension between scenes to even make it nearly thrilling enough.

Most of the actors, especially MacLachlan and Shue, try very hard to make the situations believable. Unfortunately, the two of them really don't have a lot of chemistry together. Michael Rook-er, playing a misunderstood hitchhiker, adds some suspense with his creepy performance, but by the time he gets on-screen it's already way too late.

"The Trigger Effect" is rated R for quite a bit of profanity, violence, a brief sex scene and some scattered racial epithets.