What would happen if Los Angeles was targeted by terrorists with dirty bombs? As one could imagine, it wouldn’t be pretty, and this shocker takes the premise, ratchets up the tension several notches and personalizes the story. Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused) is Brad, an out-of-work musician who bids wife Lexi (Mary McCormack) goodbye for her workday in downtown Los Angeles and soon discovers the city has been exposed to poisonous gas. Brad must figure out what to do in this most dire of situations, made even more stressful with no TV or phone and strangers trying to find shelter in his increasingly shielded suburban home. Debuting director Chris Gorak gets the most from his primarily single location, expert small cast and limited budget to deliver an impressive first film that manages to be haunting and provocative at the same time.

Shelf Talk: Solid reviews helped this film get strong word-of-mouth during its theatrical tenure in arthouses, but the wider audience for such horror efforts as 28 Days Later and Land of the Dead also can be mined on DVD.