They laugh one moment, bicker the next, are terrified, melancholy, angry... Just like normal people. This is a movie that families can relate to, obviously not the killing part.
The plot It’s Christmas Eve and Frank is taking his family, The Harrington’s to dinner to his mother in law’s house. He decides to take a short cut to his in-law’s house as he is tired. He is also bored of taking the same route year after year and wants a change and become more adventurous. He takes the back road short cut. Little does he know that this will be the worst mistake he is ever going to make.
As he’s so tired, Frank nearly crashes with an on-coming car because he is falling asleep. He then sees a mysterious girl dresses in white, who is carrying a baby on the side of the road. She looked like she has been in an accident and very distressed. So, Frank and the family decide to help her.
As mile follows yet another mile, a horrible dread seizes the family. They can’t seem to get off the road. There are no other cars on the road. They do see occasional road signs which give them hope about getting off this never ending highway, but when they look on the map, the town does not exist. Slowly, the bickering family descends into madness they are drawn into an uncontrollable nightmare, where death is hanging above each and every one of them every time they stop the car.
Directed By: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Dead End Written By: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Dead End Cast: Ray Wise, Alexandra Holden, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Billy Asher, Amber Smith, Karen Gregan, Steve Valentine, Sharon Madden, Clement Blake, Jimmy Skaggs, Ivan Kraljevic
Rating: 15
This isn’t a horror movie with lots of gore but more psychological. You’re seeing a family confined into a small and cramped car wanting to get out. You see Frank who is not happy with wanting to go to his mother-in-law’s house, since she had never approved of him. But, his wife, Laura, simply refuses to go anywhere else. Laura tries to bring in the Christmas spirit into a family who doesn’t really want it. She is also left dealing with the constant moans from everyone including her husband.
The casts are small as we only see the one family. It is a low budget movie, but a very entertaining movie. It simply revolves around the family being thrown into a nightmarish situation that they can’t see any escape from and is targeted by a killer. A killer who never reveals her reasons why until the final act.
The movie relies on the imagination instead of gore to scare but Dead End does standout as it has some very funny and dark humour to it. It does have very scary moments that will leave your nerves jumping or finding the pillow to hide your face. The scare scenes do have a bizarre quirkiness to them, which will keep you gripped to the movie.
The dialogues are very witty especially from the younger son Richard. It relieves a lot of the tension of the situation. The dialogue gets even funnier as the family’s situation worsens. Their deepest and darkest secrets are revealed with heated arguments and also fear.
The performances of the actors/actress are excellent and really keep you amused. I think that the best performance is by Lin Shaye, who plays the mother of the family Laura. Her character is very funny and she had played it well.
The story however is quite predictable. It is very easy to figure out what is happening or is about to happen to the family.
This is still a movie that I would recommend in seeing. There is a lot to enjoy in the Dead End, so it’s never dull. The dark humour, the genuine scares and the excellent cast is only part of what make this movie a must see. The rest is up to the imagination.
The movie to buy on DVD will cost around £12 on Amazon or you can rent it.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Jul 29th, 2004
very helpful by (96%):
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