Drive Back

Wow, I am so pleasantly surprised at how competent this film is! I'm a huge fan of weird scenario films, people being taken or placed in some insane scenario and just having to navigate their way through it.

I noticed almost all the negative reviews are from people who were confused by it, or lacked the comprehension to understand what they were seeing, but it all makes sense by the end. Perhaps they didn't make it to the end, but I absolutely enjoyed watching the bizarre stuff happening to them, inexplicable at the time, but fully realized by the end of the movie.

My only complaint was that it felt predictable at times, but in a fun and familiar way. When the old man appeared for the first time, I told myself that I had a guess on who he was, and I was right. It would have been a very cool introductory movie for those into bizarre scenario films like YellowBrickRoad, or In The Tall Grass, or Triangle, but if you hated this film because it was confusing, those films will be a nightmare for you to navigate.

Lastly, I will say the shots are well done, the acting is all passable to good, and it's a competently made film, if not slightly predictable for veterans of the genre.

This film is seminal , wow wow and more wow. How this was made is a phenomina in itself. Sometimes it just works and boy oh boy does this work. It works a bit and then it works a bit more , then when you think it cant work any more it keeps on working. Yes its that good ... so where shall we start ? How about we start at the beginnning shall we ? Couple are in the car , couple go into woods , couple get into some bizare unexplainable stuff , couple show they are couragous and overcome obstacles. Does that sound good to you ? Well I can tell you right now its better than what you imagine , a lot better than you can possibly visualise and better than any other simliar film like this you might think you have ever seen , its that good. So if you think you are ready to watch it after this review can I suggest one thing ? One little thing ? A treat , yes treat yourself , to that one little treat ... a bowl ... a bowl of popcorn ... it doesnt have to be dry salted one , it can be the sugar one , a bowl of sugar coated popcorn ... treat yourself as your sit down for this movie , and you know what , let yourself , let yourself have a drink , it could be a glass of water , or a soda , or a cup of tea ... combine the two , popcorn and some liquid ... now you go and enjoy one of the greatest films of 2024 ... it is a fantasic film.

So what was the time loop for? For the couple to realize that the woman is (or rather) cheated on the man 'a long time ago' with cheap jump scares with the man in the mask and the 'stop talking' guy who wasn't scary at all and remember the hitchhiker how did he become good and helped them all of a sudden? These are issues that I had with this movie because it felt like a bland horror type thriller that just didn't land (even with the cheap jump scares) a time loop run of the mill movie that looked lost even in the year 2024 when it was made. And an arguing couple who were quite annoying trying to solve their issues even in the 'loop'. Overall if you get to watch this movie I tell you to watch once because it refused to pick up. Time doesn't really matter in here!! And this felt like a real drag. Whether it's hallucinations or just cheap jump scares this movie showed that and more but didn't save it from been bang on average.

Those that haven't seen YellowBrick Road, Dead End, In Fear or the recent lame ' Black Cab' may find more to enjoy than I did, this takes from them films ad nauseum that I was mentally ticking off the tropes this film brought up.

Any film that has a ' road to nowhere' set up with a family/couple bringing their own emotional baggage to these supernatural unknown powers goes through cliches-a creepy garage at the start, dark albeit lush forests, a ghostly person with a secret on the road, time bending, events of the past coming up to the future, secrets, deja vu, on and on.

The acting is okay.

A couple are heading through the woods and need to get some directions from the stereotypical creepy hill billies. Good idea to follow their advice ... ?

No surprises much in the first act. Dialog keeps the movie entertaining but as the second act kicks in, the movie feels like it is probably going somewhere interesting.

It's main idea has been done before many times (I won't quote other movies as it'll give that away easily) but it's handled well and, for the most part, hangs together and is a good watch.

The third act is where the movie starts to come apart a bit and becomes a bit of a jumble of nonsense. Yes it went downhill but no, the movie wasn't wrecked as it wasn't already on some incredible high ground.

I think with a bit of spit and polish and some better ideas in the last act, this could have been very good. As it stands, it's a worthwhile watch if you're stuck for a movie one evening.