Shelter (2000) from Tuna

Shelter (1997) is a direct to vid crime thriller about an honest ATF officer whose wife dies near the beginning of the film after a long coma caused by an accident. He is at odds with his boss, who is selling the guns they confiscate to youth gangs. He meets and falls in lust with Brenda Bakke, wife of the Greek who does most of the gun running in several states.
The ATF bad guys hatch a plot to muscle the Greeks out of town. When the hired guns shoot at Bakke and kill our hero's partner, he, as any honest cop would do, joins the bad guys. Naturally, the bad guys are ecstatic over the chance to hire an ATF agent, and make him Bakke's body guard 

NUDITY REPORT

see the main text

DVD info from Amazon.

  • full-screen version only

  • making-of featurette and trailer

We then learn that Bakke is into women. Shortly after that, she gets it on with, you guessed it, our ATF agent. She does show breasts in a dark scene. She also shows most of a breast in the car after a shootout. As if a really lame plot wasn't bad enough, the pace is about as exciting as watching paint dry. 

If someone invites you over to see this film, immediately make an appointment for a root canal -- it will be much more enjoyable.  

Scoop's note: one IMDb viewer wrote a pretty funny commentary about what is unique in this movie, to distinguish it from all others in the genre. He suggested, among other things: The Greek-Arkansas mafia, Baboon Skin Upholstery, and a guy reloading his clip underwater.

The Critics Vote

  • no reviews online

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 4.7 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a D.

Return to the Movie House home page