Ted Raimi gives an amazing tour de force performance in this psychological thriller that features a supernatural edge but not in what you expect.

James is on the brink of insanity as he is in massive debt to the point where he may have no other choice but to sell his family’s factory to save his house, which is near foreclosure. To make matters worse, James’ daughter is getting set to get married in a few months. He has one hour to decide what he’s going to do. Contemplating to sell the factory, he finds himself visited by Michael, a soon to be ex-employee who has been skimming off the factory’s money and demands half of the factory’s selling price. James decides not only to refuse but knocks him out and hides him in the closet.

This sets off a chain reaction of events for James as he struggles to figure out what to do. From hosting a wedding rehearsal to coming to grips with reality, James finds his biggest challenge yet in his former lawyer. The lawyer demands that James give up the deed to the factory because he owes money to some very shady people and James’ factory is the only way out. James soon realizes he is in a bind, and he may not be able to get out of this one…or can he?

Writer-director Alex Kahuam has come up with a very intriguing and interesting film about a man who must make a decision that could change his life in the long run. Using the one-take method, this is a great film that brings out of the best performances for Ted Raimi. Sam’s brother, known normally for many supporting roles, has a rare chance to go lead but this is clearly one of his best in a lead as he plays James as someone who is experiencing the titular “failure” but will go through any situation in a nonchalant manner.

What makes this film a bit of having a supernatural edge is the appearance of the unknown man, played by Noel Douglas Orput. It is not clear at first if this unknown man is there for James as an ally, but we learn that he is actually James’ conscience/therapist but only James can see him. Orput and Raimi have such great chemistry together as we see James talking to the unknown man as if he is in fact going through therapy until we have a few antagonists appear who want to make life hell for our bitter protagonist.

The first comes in the form of a disgruntled factory employee who has the audacity to demand half of the factory’s selling price after he is caught being known for skimming. The other is an unscrupulous lawyer who demands the whole spiel to cover his own tail against some very shady people, notably the mysterious Mr. Serge, played by Merrick McCartha, who may have the looks and gives off a mob boss vibe, but surprisingly tends to be not who completely who he seems to be. As for James, he has one ally in the family “enforcer” Slavko, played by Ernest Cavazos, who serves as a “cleanup” man. The finale comes off without much predictability because you never know what is going to happen until you see it for yourself.

Failure! Is Ted Raimi’s tour de force performance in a lead role. He plays his role perfectly as someone who is going through failure and will do his darn best to get through anyone in a nonchalant way to make things right for himself and his family.

WFG RATING: A

Alief presents a Promotora NAE production in association with Spacebrain Entertainment. Director: Alex Kahuam. Producers: Alex Kahuam, Ted Raimi, Marco De Molina, Kayli Fortun, and Jose D. Rodriguez. Writer: Alex Kahuam. Cinemtography: Ernesto Lomeli. Editing: Alex Kahuam.

Cast: Ted Raimi, Noel Douglas Orput, Merrick McCartha, Christin Muuli, John Paul Medrano, Ernest Cavazos, LeVar Michael, Spencer Langston, Melissa Diaz, Joe Barra, Chris Paul Morales.