The late Brittany Murphy(in one of her final roles)stars as a screenplay writer trying to recover from a nervous breakdown at the hands of her abusive boyfriend, Ben, who nearly drowned her, killing their unborn baby. Her producer arranged for Alice(Murphy)to stay at the isolated locale of a missing couple who lived there. Thora Birch is Lucy, Alice's "muse" after discovering some camcorder tapes, shot by her disturbed husband, David(Marc Blucas). David is insecure about his standing with Lucy who tries her very level best to tell her husband that he is her one and only. Yet, David can not accept that such a lovely creature as Lucy could be all his and we witness their marriage's unraveling as she prepares a room for the birth of their child. David is obsessive in recording Lucy's practically every movement and it becomes so consuming she tells him he's smothering her..Lucy is painting a baby chair or brushing her hair and there's David with that damn camera recording every move she makes. This is ideal for Alice, though, with enough material to work with that their life and it's spiral into darkness provides her with a juicy story which could fashion into a provocative screenplay. Though, as Alice begins hearing creaks, noises, sobbing, and other sounds, she wonders if the house is haunted by Lucy, further concerned about the whereabouts of David. Tammy Blanchard is Rebecca, Alice's companion and (we assume)lesbian lover. Rebecca worries for Alice's mental state particularly when phone calls from her reveal that she sees and hears Lucy(and other strange goings-on)around the house. DEADLINE questions whether or not Alice is actually experiencing what she does or if these events regarding Lucy and David are merely parallels to her past trauma with Ben. We start to notice that Alice and Lucy merge in scenes as if both lives mirror each other. DEADLINE is a slow-burning old-fashioned chiller using isolation and psychological damage as a means to tell it's tale of a seriously tormented protagonist. Through Murphy's haunted character(her face conveys instability and vulnerability, in essence, Alice has a fragile psyche barely held together with duck tape). There's never a point in the movie where Alice is shown as mentally strong, and, if anything, the past wears on her face and demeanor almost at all times. Being alone in a house with a possible history of murder maybe wasn't the right thing to do for such a fractured soul as Alice. Rebecca tries, bless her heart, to be an ear for Alice, and wants to help her, but there's too much baggage thanks to Ben. Ben is never shown on screen, but I felt David is a reminder of him..my opinion, Ben and David are one in the same. Though, Ben actually contacts Alice telling her she is free, will this poor victim ever be liberated from the horrors of the past? What DEADLINE does effectively is follow what seems like a cordial, harmonious marriage disintegrate with Alice, unhealthily, watching it deteriorate. The ending, however, is rather fascinating in that it shows Alice perhaps "switching roles" as Rebecca finds a recording of herself asleep, a statement eerily reminding us of what David said as he was taping Lucy dozing.