Breaking In

Intruders put a mother and her teenage children in a nightmare situation in this home-invasion thriller from V for Vendetta director James McTeigue. After inheriting a lavish ranch from her father, Gabrielle Union discovers the remote property's hi-tech security equipment is a mixed blessing when a gang of criminals infiltrates the system. In a neatly worked twist on a scenario familiar from Panic Room, the embattled mum is left locked out while her son and daughter are held captive by crooks seeking the old man's secret stash. The subsequent game of cat and mouse is efficiently handled, sustaining tension while Union does her best indomitable expression. The baddies, led by moderately hissable smoothie Billy Burke, needed a bit more work, but this unassuming B-picture gets the job done, ensuring sweaty-palmed excitement throughout. And no, it's not giving too much away to suggest there's a ventilation duct involved at some point.