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Review: ‘Monday at 11:01 A.M.’: Perhaps it’s best to jump one minute ahead

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After a hazily violent opening sequence that foreshadows the conclusion of “Monday at 11:01 A.M.,” Michael (Charles Agron, who also wrote and co-produced) and Jenny (Lauren Shaw) pull into a sleepy town that’s a twilight zone where time actually stands still at the aforementioned hour.

One can run a tab at the antique shop, and there’s a doctor on staff at the inn. It’s hard to decipher whether these particular details signpost a dream logic or a screenwriter who doesn’t get out much.

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While out exploring, Michael happens upon a group of faceless people with horns sprouting out of their hooded black robes who are joining in a ritual circle. At night, he hears screams and a struggle coming from a vacant room at the inn. Jenny soon vanishes without a trace. None of the townsfolk know her whereabouts; moreover, they act as if they’ve never seen her in the first place. Although we experience the goings on through Michael’s viewpoint, his perspective appears increasingly unreliable.

Agron’s screenplay and Harvey Lowry’s direction seem more concerned with scattering bread crumbs than fashioning credible characters and an engaging story. It doesn’t help that the performances are wooden and the filmmaking is on autopilot.

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‘Monday at 11:01 A.M.’

MPAA rating: R for some bloody violence, and language throughout including sexual references.

Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Playing: AMC Universal CityWalk 19. Also on VOD

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