It’s a dark, stormy night. A mother (Taraji P. Henson) has the house and kids to herself for the next couple of days, because her husband is out of town.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. In comes a mysterious stranger (Idris Elba).

He says he just needs to use the phone, but we all know he has more sinister motives.

Ninety-five minutes of excruciatingly boring dialogue, kidnapping and random bits of violence against women later, “No Good Deed” has told its grand story.

However, it’s a story nobody needs to hear.

Right off the bat, it’s clear that the movie has little to offer, because its premise is so well-worn.

We all know exactly how this story plays out.

 Bad home invasion thrillers are made so frequently that Sam’s Club might as well be selling them to us in bulk.

The conceit here is that Elba’s character is an escaped convict with serious violent tendencies toward women who decides to take them out on Henson while she’s home alone.

There’s a painfully stupid plot twist near the end that attempts to explain why he chose her as a target, but by that point, it’s impossible to care.

It has a certain made-for-TV quality to it, which is a shame, because the leads are both genuinely good.

Elba’s presence is usually a plus for any movie, and he gives off an appropriate level of malice. Henson, on the other hand, brings plenty of energy to her line delivery, which is impressive considering the low quality of the script.

Those lead performances can’t save “No Good Deed” from literally everything else that’s wrong about it, though.

 There might be two tripod shots in the whole thing because otherwise the cinematography is jittery and pedestrian at best.

The pacing is awful, as absolutely nothing of interest happens in most of the first half.

Even at such a short length, a great deal of the scenes feel like unnecessary filler.

It doesn’t feel like it was written to fill out a feature-length film.

If there are any other compliments for “No Good Deed” (that’s using the term “compliment” liberally), the film doesn’t go as far with disgusting violence against women as it could have.

There are a handful of uncomfortable scenes, but considering the fact that Elba’s character is nothing more than a malevolent misogynist, it could be a lot worse in that regard.

Otherwise, there isn’t much more I can say about “No Good Deed.”

It’s a gigantic waste of acting talent, and there’s just no reason for anyone to see it, period.