How to Deter a Robber

The stupid criminal genre of movies is a favorite of mine. They usually involve a heist or low-level dopes getting in way over their heads. They’re often a blast and the situations make for really fun set pieces. Similarly, I love a good holiday season crime movie; just a great dichotomy between season and circumstance. If you put them both together, add a strange amount of politeness in the face of danger, and a little bit of supernatural folklore and you’ll get the delightful How to Deter a Robber, which premiered Tuesday at Fantastic Fest 2020.How to Deter a Robber 2020 Movie Download.

How to Deter a Robber is the feature debut for writer-director Maria Bissell who manages to meld the outlandish and the mundane to great effect. The characters feel just off enough to be funny but not so zany that they might lose credibility. You mostly know people like these; it’s not out of the realm of possibility for them to be in a situation like this. At a brisk 85 minutes, too, Bissell doesn’t mince words or belabor any points. It’s quick, it’s funny, it’s fresh, and then it says farewell.Our lead character is Madison (Vanessa Marano) an 18-year-old staying with her family in a cabin in Northern Wisconsin for the holidays. She’s smart but doesn’t challenge herself, which is most evident in her choice of boyfriend, the sweet but naive Jimmy (Benjamin Papac) who’s also staying with them. After a fight with her mom, Madison and Jimmy go “check on” their neighbor’s empty house. After a seance revolving around the “hodag,” a mythical beast, they get high and pass out.

When they awaken, they discover the neighbors house has been robbed with them asleep in it. They call the cops and are instructed not to leave town. Since the family is leaving that day, the teens have to stay in the company of Madison’s gruff uncle Andy (Chris Mulkey). Meanwhile, a rash of robberies continue in the area. In order to deter the robbers from hitting their house, they set up Home Alone-style traps, grab BB guns, and try to make it clear people are there. But, you can probably guess what happens then.