All too often, good actors are to blame for bad acting.

But this is not fair. There are too many examples of excellent actors turning in subpar performances in the hands of a mediocre or worse director. Let’s think for just a moment about our classic sci-fi cousin across the galaxy from long, long ago whose prequels gave us horrible performances from Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, and Ewan McGregor. These are all phenomenal actors and yet, in the hands of a crazed and poor director, act terribly.

Thankfully, New Terminal Hotel combines both excellent actors with a controlled and capable director. BC Furtney, eight-time director, turns in a well-planned and well-executed film that showcases comeback-kid Stephen Geoffreys, surprise powerhouse Tiffany Shepis, and Corey Haim in one of his final performances.

With a simple but effective voice-over-black intro, New Terminal Hotel immediately plops us down right in the middle of a strange and tense situation. Don Malek (Geoffreys) is a writer who hasn’t turned in a manuscript for some time, instead enjoying the slow torture he’s inflicting on the drugged-up producer he’s keeping in his tub.

Part psychological thriller and part medical fetish film, the story reveals tidbits at a time till roughly two-thirds of the way through the show when Malek’s motives are completely revealed. Even then, the story is riveting.

If for no other reason, see this film for the performance turned in by Tiffany Shepis playing Ava Collins, a tough writers’ agent willing to track down MIA writers in the crappiest of neighborhoods. Obviously, this talented actor has been vastly underutilized as a mere pair of perky breasts in the past, but here she’s given a full co-lead position and soars with it. Her gritty, no bullshit attitude is captivating and invigorating. It’s the complexity she infuses into her character that keeps us watching this film till the end.

This is an indie film, so it’s not without a little over-the-top characterization in the form of Malek’s neighbor Spitz (Ezra Buzzington), a wheelchair-bound, beer-swilling hooker-beater who screams a lot, but not well, and the questionable acting of Carter Ball (James Grabowski), an underhanded writers’ agent who’s more unbelievable than devious. Even these slightly sour berries won’t spoil the taste of this delicious pie though.

We’re so happy to give this film a full five dangling eyeballs.