{{Short description|2021 Canadian film by Brad Turner}} {{About|the film|the concept|trigger points|the British television series|Trigger Point (TV series)}} {{Use American English|date=March 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox film | name = Trigger Point | image = Trigger Point poster.jpg | alt = A man wearing shades holds a silencer while walking in a mist, with the words "Trigger Point" placed in front of him in red font. | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Brad Turner | producer = Thomas Vencelides | writer = Michael Vickerman | starring = {{Plainlist| <!-- Per BILLING BLOCK --> * Barry Pepper * Eve Harlow * Carlo Rota * Laura Vandervoort * Jayne Eastwood * Nazneen Contractor * Greg Bryk * Rainbow Sun Francks * Colm Feore }} | music = {{Plainlist| * Andrew Lockington * Michael White }} | cinematography = Brett Van Dyke | editing = David Thompson | studio = {{Plainlist| * High Park Entertainment * Landmark Studio Group * Peace River Pictures }} | distributor = Screen Media Films | released = {{Film date|2021|4|16|United States and Canada|2021|4|23|VOD}} | runtime = 85 minutes<ref name="BOM"/> | country = Canada | language = English | budget = | gross = $29,262<ref name="BOM">{{cite Box Office Mojo|id=13382698|title=Trigger Point|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418232013/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt13382698/|archive-date=April 18, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref> }}
'''''Trigger Point''''' is a 2021 Canadian action-thriller film directed by Brad Turner. It stars Barry Pepper, Eve Harlow, Carlo Rota, Laura Vandervoort, Jayne Eastwood, Nazneen Contractor, Greg Bryk, Rainbow Sun Francks, and Colm Feore. The plot follows a retired special operative who returns to the organization to help his former boss find his missing daughter. ''Trigger Point'' was theatrically released by Screen Media Films on April 16, 2021. The film was met with negative reviews from critics.
==Plot== <!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 to 700 words. Please check the word count before making any additions. -->
In New York, an assailant shoots and kills various people with a silencer.
One year later, retired United States special operative Nicolas Shaw lives a quiet life in hiding. In flashbacks, Shaw partially remembers being tortured by an unknown perpetrator who forced him to give out the names of his colleagues, who were shot by the assailant, before being framed for the assassinations. After being confronted by a member of the agency he was once a part of, Shaw meets with Elias Kane, his former boss, who tells him that his daughter, Monica, has been kidnapped by a perpetrator named Quinton.
While investigating, Shaw manages to rescue Monica after escaping a shootout with the guards. However, Shaw is soon held at gunpoint by Monica, who reveals she and her father were trying to capture Shaw to retrieve encrypted information. After taking away her firearm, Shaw takes Monica into a forest, where it is revealed that she has been shot. At a house, Shaw tells Monica that Quinton was the unknown perpetrator who made him give out the identities of his colleagues by drugging him; Monica tells Shaw that, in fact, he gave out the names before he was tortured and that the drug caused him to forget the events. Soon after, Monica escapes and reunites with her father, where the pair learn Shaw erased the encrypted information.
Back in the town where he was living in hiding, Shaw begins to decode a copy of the information. Meanwhile, Kane begins to track Shaw by visiting the diner and bookstore Shaw frequently visited, where he meets Janice, the waitress Shaw flirted with, and shoots the bookstore owner who knows about Shaw's true identity. After decoding the information, Shaw learns it was Kane who tortured him, drugging him to forget his memories but failing to retrieve Quinton's information.
Kane takes Janice hostage and Monica is told by Shaw about her father's true intentions. Finding Janice in Kane's car, Shaw begins to track down Kane. In a shootout, the pair are led to a pier, where Monica arrives, having learned that Kane was the one who caused the death of her lover Javier, and Shaw shoots and kills Kane before Monica does.
Days later, at a school, Shaw meets with a teacher who was also one of his former colleagues. As she reveals that she knew about Kane's plan all along, the pair discuss the possibility of a larger conspiracy before Shaw pulls out a gun. Outside, the bookstore owner and Shaw speak on the phone before Shaw tells her that he will leave town for a "few business days".
==Cast== * Barry Pepper as Nicolas Shaw * Colm Feore as Elias Kane * Eve Harlow as Monica Kane * Carlo Rota as Dwight Logan * Laura Vandervoort as Fiona Snow * Jayne Eastwood as Irene Cole * Nazneen Contractor as Janice Carmichael * Greg Bryk as Richard Pool * Rainbow Sun Francks as "Mouthpiece" * Karen Robinson as Quinton
==Production== ''Trigger Point'' was originally going to begin production in early 2020, but filming was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lrmonline.com/news/colm-feore/|title=Colm Feore Talks About Impersonation In ''Trigger Point'' [Exclusive Interview]|date=April 16, 2021|first=Nancy|last=Tapia|website=LRMonline|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419185050/https://lrmonline.com/news/colm-feore/|archive-date=April 19, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Future"/> On October 13, 2020, it was announced that Barry Pepper and Colm Feore had joined the cast of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/barry-pepper-colm-feore-join-action-thriller-trigger-point-exclusive|title=Barry Pepper, Colm Feore Join Action Thriller ''Trigger Point'' (Exclusive)|date=October 13, 2020|first=Etan|last=Vlessing|website=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225150721/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/barry-pepper-colm-feore-join-action-thriller-trigger-point-exclusive|archive-date=February 25, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=February 25, 2021}}</ref> Principal photography began on October 26, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, and concluded on December 6 after filming in Huron County, Hamilton, and Bayfield, Ontario. The film is the first major motion picture to be shot in Bayfield.<ref name="Filming"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clintonnewsrecord.com/news/local-news/bayfield-being-used-as-backdrop-for-film-trigger-point|title=Bayfield being used as backdrop for film ''Trigger Point''|date=October 22, 2020|first=Daniel|last=Caudle|website=Clinton News-Record|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127121430/https://www.clintonnewsrecord.com/news/local-news/bayfield-being-used-as-backdrop-for-film-trigger-point|archive-date=November 27, 2020|url-status=live|access-date=February 25, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://lfpress.com/entertainment/movies/bayfield-set-to-shed-its-quaint-image-when-big-budget-action-thriller-begins-filming|title=Action-thriller movie shoot set to blow up Bayfield's quaint image|date=October 22, 2020|first=Max|last=Martin|website=The London Free Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120211456/https://lfpress.com/entertainment/movies/bayfield-set-to-shed-its-quaint-image-when-big-budget-action-thriller-begins-filming|archive-date=January 20, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.varietyinsight.com/production_restart_full_view.php?track_id=177216|title=Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – ''Trigger Point''|website=Variety Insight|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520192143/https://www.varietyinsight.com/production_restart_full_view.php?track_id=177216|archive-date=May 20, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=May 20, 2021}}</ref>
==Reception== ===Box office=== In its opening weekend, the film earned $29,262 from 77 theaters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2021W16/|title=Domestic 2021 Weekend 16|website=Box Office Mojo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420155847/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2021W16/|archive-date=April 20, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref>
===Critical response=== On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 15 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10.<!--The site's critical consensus reads, "[...]".--><ref>{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=trigger_point_2021|type=m|title=Trigger Point|access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref><!--Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of [...] out of [...] based on [...] critics, indicating "[...] reviews."--> Glenn Kenny, writing for ''RogerEbert.com'', gave the film half a star out of four. In his review, Kenny criticized the film's title, its overuse of exposition to explain plot points, and the "nurturing [of] some deeply-held racial and sexist resentments" from the screenwriter, referring to the film itself as a "cinematic bag of pain".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/trigger-point-movie-review-2021|title=''Trigger Point''|date=April 16, 2021|first=Glenn|last=Kenny|author-link=Glenn Kenny|website=RogerEbert.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418234629/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/trigger-point-movie-review-2021|archive-date=April 18, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 18, 2021}}</ref> In their mixed review for ''MovieWeb'', Julian Roman noted the "brisk pacing and sharp violence" in the film and its "somewhat cinematic flow", but also mentioned his disappointment in the low runtime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movieweb.com/trigger-point-review-barry-pepper/|title=''Trigger Point'' Review: More Head Shots Than a High School Yearbook|date=April 16, 2021|first=Julian|last=Roman|website=MovieWeb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416161758/https://movieweb.com/trigger-point-review-barry-pepper/|archive-date=April 16, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 18, 2021}}</ref> From ''Comic Book Resources'', Cynthia Vinney had a similar assessment and gave negative remarks to its length and acting, but said the overall story had "enough action to be diverting".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/barry-pepper-trigger-point-review/|title=Barry Pepper's ''Trigger Point'' Is a Competent, But Incomplete, Thriller|date=April 16, 2021|first=Cynthia|last=Vinney|website=Comic Book Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418004231/https://www.cbr.com/barry-pepper-trigger-point-review/|archive-date=April 18, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021}}</ref>
==Possible sequels== Director Brad Turner told the ''Clinton News-Record'' that ''Trigger Point'' could potentially serve as the first film in a trilogy: "It was written as a beginning of a series of movies and so far the concept is for two more, but it could easily go on for a few more depending on the success of it."<ref name="Future">{{cite web|url=https://www.clintonnewsrecord.com/news/local-news/bayfield-hits-the-mark-for-brad-turners-film|title=Bayfield hits the mark for Brad Turner's film|date=November 5, 2020|first=Daniel|last=Caudle|website=Clinton News-Record|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125134810/https://www.clintonnewsrecord.com/news/local-news/bayfield-hits-the-mark-for-brad-turners-film|archive-date=November 25, 2020|url-status=live|access-date=February 25, 2021}}</ref> On CTV News, executive producer Eric Birnberg said that the trilogy could be similar to the ''John Wick'' franchise with the use of "common elements".<ref name="Filming">{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/movie-shoot-could-be-first-of-many-in-bayfield-ont/|title=Movie shoot could be first of many in Bayfield, Ont.|date=October 27, 2020|first=Scott|last=Miller|agency=CTV News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225154107/https://london.ctvnews.ca/movie-shoot-could-be-first-of-many-in-bayfield-ont-1.5162683|archive-date=February 25, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=February 25, 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|13382698}}
{{Brad Turner}}
Category:2021 action thriller films Category:2021 films Category:English-language Canadian films Category:Canadian action thriller films Category:Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Category:Films about assassinations Category:Films about missing people Category:Films directed by Brad Turner Category:Films scored by Andrew Lockington Category:Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario Category:2021 English-language films Category:2021 Canadian films Category:English-language action thriller films