D: Gregory Jacobs
S: Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan
The first thing that interested me in this movie was the fact that its producers included both George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. Then, of course, there was the lovely Emily Blunt, whom I have a great...um, appreciation for. However, knowing that this was a pretty low-budget horror movie involving a road trip (much like the previously-mentioned worst-of-the-worst, Haunted Highway), my expectations weren't very high. Add to that the extremely limited cast - 90% of the movie is just Emily Blunt (credited simply as "Girl") and Ashton Holmes (credited as "Guy") in a car dealing with each other and the evolving situation around them.
The movie really is very good for what it is, which is more a thriller than a true "horror" film. It does a great job of keeping you guessing about what's really going on until the "big reveal", which is very ambitious for a movie of this budget. I would love to go into details, but on the off chance that you see it and don't spoil yourself elsewhere, the fun really is in the way the story develops. This is one of the few recent horror/thrillers to really focus on what makes those movies work - a slow burn plot, revealed in bits and pieces until either you put the puzzle together yourself, or the "big reveal" points it all out to you.
Needless to say, any film that is essentially two people in a very tightly closed space relies extremely heavily on the acting talents of its key players. And here the two players excel. They play off of one another, never really gelling together fully until they both come to realize the true gravity of the situation they're faced with - not just the cold outside and the tension inside, but whatever else lies in the darkness along Route 606. Trust me when I tell you, this is a very fun ride.
S: Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan
The first thing that interested me in this movie was the fact that its producers included both George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. Then, of course, there was the lovely Emily Blunt, whom I have a great...um, appreciation for. However, knowing that this was a pretty low-budget horror movie involving a road trip (much like the previously-mentioned worst-of-the-worst, Haunted Highway), my expectations weren't very high. Add to that the extremely limited cast - 90% of the movie is just Emily Blunt (credited simply as "Girl") and Ashton Holmes (credited as "Guy") in a car dealing with each other and the evolving situation around them.
The movie really is very good for what it is, which is more a thriller than a true "horror" film. It does a great job of keeping you guessing about what's really going on until the "big reveal", which is very ambitious for a movie of this budget. I would love to go into details, but on the off chance that you see it and don't spoil yourself elsewhere, the fun really is in the way the story develops. This is one of the few recent horror/thrillers to really focus on what makes those movies work - a slow burn plot, revealed in bits and pieces until either you put the puzzle together yourself, or the "big reveal" points it all out to you.
Needless to say, any film that is essentially two people in a very tightly closed space relies extremely heavily on the acting talents of its key players. And here the two players excel. They play off of one another, never really gelling together fully until they both come to realize the true gravity of the situation they're faced with - not just the cold outside and the tension inside, but whatever else lies in the darkness along Route 606. Trust me when I tell you, this is a very fun ride.
