The Alarmist 1997

Tommy Hudler, David Arquette, a new security-system salesman, is mentored by Heinrich Grigoris, Stanley Tucci. After his first sale to Gale Ancona, Kate Capshaw a widow, he meets her teenage son, Howard Ancona, Ryan Reynolds. To celebrate, Tommy has dinner with Heinrich and Sally, Mary McCormack, and they mark the milestone. Back at Gale’s house, Tommy sets up her security code, and they impulsively sleep together.

Tommy then tries to extend his sales record with an elderly couple, the Fieldings, but Mr. Fielding, Hoke Howell, explains that the two feel safe because of his extensive gun collection, painting a picture of a life lived with defenses close at hand. Heinrich informs Tommy that he will become the spokesman for a commercial they’re filming, and during the shoot Tommy performs well, earning Heinrich’s quiet congratulations while the uneasy current underneath the gleaming success begins to surface.

As the relationship between Tommy and Gale deepens, he suggests they go on a vacation to enjoy uninterrupted time together, and he even proposes Gale meet his parents, though she makes clear that their relationship isn’t that serious yet. One night, while driving home from a bar, Heinrich stops at a house he had secured before, and they sneak in through the back. Heinrich kicks down the door, triggering the alarm, and they run off. He tells Tommy it’s “just business,” a phrase that will haunt Tommy long after.

The next day, the homeowner praises the security system, and Heinrich rationalizes that these incidents fuel sales. Tommy remains skeptical, but Heinrich’s secretary offers a stark truth: they do it to survive, since crime is statistically down, a line of thinking that begins to blur Tommy’s sense of right and wrong. Preparing for their trip, Howard introduces Tommy to his girlfriend, April Brody, Tricia Vessey, who recognizes him from the commercial. While driving to visit his parents, Tommy stops so Gale can meet his family, and they stay overnight, but Gale leaves quietly in the night and returns home to Howard. Tommy tries calling Gale several times but only reaches her voicemail. When the police arrive at the office, he’s led to identify Gale and Howard’s bodies at the morgue, and the investigators say there was a break-in and that the robber panicked.

Tommy dreams of Gale, who tells him he “knows who did this.” Heinrich suggests Tommy might have wrongly suspected him, but Tommy denies it and begins to question everything he’s learned about loyalty, crime, and profit. As the days pass, Tommy quits, overwhelmed by thoughts of killing Heinrich and disposing of the body, a line he refuses to cross even as the fear of losing everything gnaws at him.

At home, April becomes upset about Howard’s death, and the weight of the recent events hangs over the household. The next day, Heinrich is found by April crying outside his home. Tommy approaches with a gun, but April intervenes, hitting Heinrich over the head with a metal pipe. They tie Heinrich up and place him in the car, but Tommy drives off, leaving April behind and haunted by what just happened.

Heinrich insists he had nothing to do with Gale and Howard’s deaths and asks Tommy to call the police for updates before he kills him. Tommy reluctantly calls, and the detective, David Brisbin who plays Detective Flinkman, informs him that the culprit has been caught and confessed. Tommy apologizes and unties Heinrich. The two of them drive home, and Heinrich resolves to be a better person, a quiet turn toward reform.

The epilogue reveals where life has taken them: Heinrich has left his life of crime behind, Tommy has pursued acting with a brief but successful run and is now married, and Gale and Howard were the fifth and sixth victims of the actual killer, a contractor, a grim reminder of the real consequences behind every sale and every choice made in the shadows of a thriving business.