No Good Deed

Terry seems to have the kind of suburban life people admire, settled in Atlanta with her husband and two kids. One evening a polite stranger named Colin shows up claiming car trouble, and Terry offers a quick favor, letting him use her phone. That kindness turns dangerous when Colin turns out to be an escaped convict who won't leave, and his charm gives way to escalating menace. The calm of family routines becomes a battle to stay alive, with tense confrontations, psychological pressure and sudden violence as Terry struggles to protect her children and outsmart a determined intruder.

Released in 2014, No Good Deed was directed by Sam Miller from a screenplay credited to Aimee Lagos. The movie is billed as a crime thriller and stars Idris Elba opposite Taraji P. Henson, with Leslie Bibb, Kate del Castillo and Henry Simmons in supporting roles. The setup leans on domestic tension and star power to drive the drama.

Critical response was mixed, and audience ratings hover around a middle range, roughly a 5.9/10 average from several hundred votes. Reviewers tended to praise the leads for keeping scenes intense while criticizing the script for familiar plotting. Major themes include the risks of misplaced trust, the strain of protecting family in the face of violence, and how charisma can mask danger.

The film added to mainstream interest in home-invasion thrillers and kept a spotlight on role reversals, where a seemingly helpful stranger becomes the threat. Idris Elba's turn as Colin drew attention because it cast him against the more heroic roles audiences had seen, and Taraji P. Henson's portrayal of a protective mother was often cited in discussions of onscreen female resilience.

At the box office the film attracted an audience curious about its premise and star pairing, translating to a solid but not dominant commercial outing. It made enough theatrical noise to be widely seen on streaming and home video, keeping it visible in genre conversations after its initial release.