The Trigger Effect Kyle MacLachlan, Elizabeth Shue, and Dermot Mulroney star in this West Coast power-outage thriller. Telephones, broadcast signals, and all things electric flicker out in seven US states, but all 50 states become targets of writer/director David Koepp’s social themes. Koepp, author of scripts for Apartment Zero and Carlito’s Way, asserts several nicely focused messages about our society’s lack of trust in team work and neighbors, as well as our …showed first 75 words of 627 total…

…showed last 75 words of 627 total…enlarging his storytelling. Instead, he shrinks the drama, and we feel as if we’re watching a modern morality play rather than a film. Nevertheless, The Trigger Effect will never lose your interest. Koepp’s clever commentary on our relationship to both guns and neighbors is more satisfying than themes typically found in today's thrillers. The troupe, which includes Bill Smitrovich, Michael Rooker, and Richard T. Jones, furthers the cause with believable portraits of panic.