My Ratings:
Story 1.00 : Direction 1.00 : Pace 0.75 : Acting 0.75 : Entertaining 1.00
Total 4.50 out of 10.00
This is one of those little films that leaves you wondering, why? Indeed I had that question in my mind at the climax of the movie, though, I realised I had enjoyed the movie too.
The story is quite basic and leaves you to draw your own conclusions as to the climax and how we arrived there. The main body of the story centres around Ian, who is a loving family man. On the eve of his daughter Joanne's violin recital, his company calls into an important business meeting the following day. That night dreams of his death plague his sleep. Though, like most dreams, they fade in the light of day. We, the audience, though, quickly see the resemblances of his journey to his appointment and the previous nights' nightmare. We know that events on this road may not bode well for our family guy.
Woven into this is the awkward and slightly unnatural relationship between Ian and Joanne. The scene where she tries to use her sexuality and sweetness to get her way, while her mother watches on, left me uneasy and cold. You have the feeling there is something not quite right with Joanne... but you can't put your finger on it.
Though you never get to see any connection of the supernatural to her it is subtly, yet strongly, insinuated.
One of the strongest elements of the story and the film is how little conversation there is. For the better part of the film, nobody speaks. Even in the nightmare sequence and the continuing night scene, everything is controlled by sounds and visions. Lindsey C Vickers who both wrote and directed had a concept for this story. The nightmare sequence didn't captivate me. For me, it lacked imagination and tensity. Which is strange as the following night scene is a milieu of tension and ingenuity. Vickers uses not only lighting to set the scene and create ambience but slows the pace a tad to add an eerie and nervous feel. To that, he throws in a smidge of imagery, in the form of three large shadow dogs. Are these the hounds from the dream?
The next morning's journey is handled better than Ian's night terror trip. Though they could have provided us with more imaginative outside shots. Mostly the audience has to make do with looking up at Ian driving and watching the beautiful scenery flow speedily by the window. This is a great shame, as some long shots and downward views and sweeping camera pans would have made this such a better film. It could only have added more character and a sense of feeling to the film.
I would love to see this story reshot today. Imagine the beautiful drone camera work you could get. Flying across the desolate moors and swooping down a cliff face to come to rest on the only car on the road. I think this is the isolation Vickers was aiming for... but only somewhat captures.
I have to doff my cap to Vickers for the opening sequence. Showing the disappearance of Susan was genius. Not because it starts the story off in a creepy manner, but rather, because it has one of the best abduction scenes, ever. Now we know how the effect was implemented, though we can't help but feel creeped out by it. I even found myself saying, "Ouch!" as she's violently yanked into the undergrowth. I then doff my cap for the audacity he has to then give us the worst car crash, ever. If you decide not to hunt down this film, then you can pop over to YouTube and check out these two scenes. You'll quickly understand why they made it there. Awesomely Good - Awesomely Bad.
The acting is okay. There's not too much to say about it as there's little interaction between the characters. However, what is there, works. I will say, the actress who plays Joanne, Samantha Weysom, is much better when she doesn't speak. Her deliverance of lines is dire and unconvincing. Though, the scene between Woodward and herself is perfect in body language.
Though people have classed this as a gem, I will say it's not that good. It's passable, and it has some good ideas. A few of which work well, while others fall flat. This isn't a must-watch or a rush-out-to-buy film. It's a watch after you've caught up on everything else film. I'm glad I watched it and I'll be talking about the abduction and crash scenes with friends, but I'm not in any rush to watch it again soon. It could and should have been better.
Make an appointment to check out my Absolute Horror list and see where this car crash-landed in the rankings.
Take Care and Stay Well.
