ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996            TAG: 9609090104
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6    EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
   A solid cast and a popular (if overly familiar) premise are wasted in "The 
Trigger Effect."
   Making an inauspicious directorial debut, writer David Koepp (``Jurassic 
Park,'' ``Mission: Impossible,'' ``Apartment Zero'') seems to have forgotten 
everything he knows about storytelling. More likely, though, he never really 
decided what he wanted to do with this cautionary suburban 
adventure/polemic/romantic triangle.

`TRIGGER EFFECT' IS MUDDLED MESS

After an opening shot of coyotes feeding on a carcass, and an extended introduction set in a movie theater, Koepp finally gets around to his point: What do normal, middle-class people do when the power goes out?

At first, Matthew (Kyle MacLachlan) and Annie (Elisabeth Shue) just want to get earache medicine for their baby daughter. But after their pal Joe (Dermot Mulroney) shows up, Matthew turns into a bumbling, ineffectual dope, and Annie turns into a slut. When the situation becomes more threatening - no radio - everyone remains remarkably blase.

At about that point in the unfocused story, Koepp tries to make some political points about gun control. It's difficult to say exactly what those points are, though he does make it clear that you shouldn't store your shotgun in the swimming pool. Then the scene abruptly shifts, and the film moves out in a new direction for the final act.

Throughout, the characters and their personal relationships have a forced, false feeling. Koepp never does anything with his central idea, either. Why does the electricity go out? Why does it come back on? No reasons are given. Koepp makes a point of quoting "The Twilight Zone" and "Night of the Living Dead," and he borrows elements from both of them.

Unfortunately, he neglects to borrow a strong central storyline and characters audiences care about.

The Trigger Effect *

A Gramercy Pictures release playing at The Grandin Theatre. Rated R for violence, strong language, subject matter. 91 min.

LENGTH: Short :   48 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Dermot Mulroney (right) plays Joe, the houseguest of 
          Matthew and Annie (Kyle MacLachlan and Elisabeth Shue) in ``The 
          Trigger Effect.''