HOLLYWOOD—Crafting an original thriller is not an easy task. The most important element many thrillers fail to include is creating the ambiance of suspense, which the movie “No Good Deed” does surprisingly well.

This spine-tingling thriller stars Idris Elba as a crazed sociopath who breathes evil. Elba delves quite deep into the role, convincing the audience at every turn, he is Colin Evans; he is one scary dude.

His prey lies in former District Attorney Terri (Taraji P. Henson) who makes the fatal mistake of allowing Colin, a complete stranger to use her phone during a storm. That mistake turns into a tense game of cat-and-mouse where Colin and Terri play mental games with one another to obtain the edge.

Director Sam Miller does a great job at staging tense moments that deliver each and every time as Terri does her best to outwit her captor, just as Colin gets one step ahead of her each time.  The connection between a mother and child is unbreakable, as our heroine proves she is willing to jump out windows, fight nail and tooth to ensure the absolute safety of her children.

Elba’s dark turn is indeed a revelation for the actor, and a challenge as he delves to a side that many female fans have not seen from the actor. If you loved Elba before this movie, you might hate him after watching it. While there are supporting players in the movie, Leslie Bibb and Henry Simmons, but this movie is hands down spear-headed by Elba and Henson who work well as hero and villain.

While audiences may have an idea of how the thriller will play out, there is a surprise that will throw many for a loop. “No Good Deed” is an edge of your seat thriller that delivers all the goods from the start to its frightening finish.