Talk about a pleasant surprise as when I was going into this one I wasn't sure what to expect due to the hyperactive trailer and the fact that Ashton Kutcher (who hasn't exactly proven himself in dramatic roles, and really doesn't here either) stars.

Kuchter plays a college student who suffered from black-outs when he was younger. When he uncovers journals that he wrote documenting the occurences he soon finds himself having the black-outs again and it's all tied to a childhood prank gone wrong, but his mind has blanked it out. Also when they occur he constantly wakes-up confused and disoriented. It's when he decides to delve into the journals that the past comes back to haunt him. Eventually he learns he can go into the past and change the future, but with dire consequences.

This is one slick mindf*ck as writer-directors Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber have their plot veer all over the place and use their jumpy narrative to keep you on the edge of your seat - and it works extremely well with lots of unsettling visions, flashbacks to a disturbing picture of childhood (the prank), and a script that ties together better at the finale than it has any right to.

Kutcher himself doesn't make that much of an impression but he's surrounded by one of the more interesting and compelling stories of the year and you have to commend New Line Cinema for taking a chance releasing this off-beat effort. (Chris Hartley, 2/15/05)

Directed By: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber.
Written By: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber.

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart, Elden Henson.