Dead End

Dead End is an excellent example of what you can do on a low budget with a small cast and just a few locations. Mystery and horror are perfect genres to excel under these conditions, and the filmmakers here take full advantage, crafting a wonderfully paranoid, claustrophobic and eerie dream-like atmosphere. The movie is totally character driven, and we spend a lot of time getting to know and care about the main characters. The gore was minimal, but effective, and there is one truly horrifying gore effect (you will know it when you see it).

The plot involves a family of four (plus the daughter's boyfriend) on their way to the mom's relatives for Christmas Eve. The father (Ray Wise) decides to take the "scenic route" and after a near head-on collision with another vehicle in the first few minutes, they pick up a ghostly hitchhiker, and soon after, the horror begins. The family is seemingly trapped on a deserted, heavily forested country road, unable to find their way out... Saying anything more will spoil your enjoyment of the film. Watching the characters react to their steadily worsening situation is a true pleasure, as they convey the film's sense of horror, shock and panic far better than any cheap gore effects or man in a rubber monster suit ever could. As the story progresses, the characters reveal dark secrets about themselves that really add to the fun... things they would not have said were things not looking so grim!

I really loved this movie, up to a point. The ending was predictable, clichéd and a big letdown after spending so much time invested in the characters trying to escape their fate. However, almost everything up to that point was a lot of fun, especially the dialogue, which was FANTASTIC. The main cast was GREAT, especially Ray Wise and the actress who played his daughter. Everyone was great except Steve Valentine, who apparently cannot act any different (or better) than his character on TV's Crossing Jordan. The female doctor at the end wasn't very good, either (I thought it was Shannon Tweed until I read the end credits!). Thankfully, these two don't appear until the end, which kind of sucked anyway (though their rather poor acting didn't help matters, it was ultimately the script's fault).

The minimalist instrumental music is really creepy and worth mentioning.

I give Dead End an "8" out of 10. With a revised ending, it could have easily garnered a "9" or "10." In a sea of brain-dead garbage "B" and grade "Z" horror movies, Dead End stands out at the front of the pack. I wish more low budget horror movies could be this finely crafted and intelligent. This movie is definitely highly recommended viewing for aspiring low budget filmmakers and horror fans.

This movie was so awesome! I have rented so many B- movies in my life, I can't even count them. I thought this was going to be another lame, stupid movie that looked like it was filmed in my backyard but it wasn't. It was totally scary. This movie kept me thinking and thinking way after the credits were done rolling. I have rented it twice and still love it. The acting is awesome, the plot rocks, the twists are cool, and the filing (thank god!) is good! If you ever have the chance, you have to see this movie! I promise that you will get a scary, suspenseful movie! There is one nasty scene which should have never been put into this movie in the first place because it has nothing to do with the plot, but ignore it and keep on watching!

My Take out of 5 *'s

*****

I liked a lot of things in this, the acting was quite good, there were some really decent moments, the story keeps you engaged.

The biggest problem thought was the ending, the first reveal was what i think 95% of people watching would have expected from the first 15 minutes of the movie, the last 'reveal' was just a bit odd.. I like the idea of it, but practically couldn't have happened, it's impossible. so seems like it was just thrown in at the last minute to keep people guessing.

I was after a christmas horror movie with a bit of cheese, and this ticked the boxes, if your after the same worth a watch

On the Christmas Eve, Frank (Ray Wise) is driving with his family, composed by his wife Laura (Lin Shaye), his son Richard (Mick Cain) and his daughter Marion (Alexandra Holden) and her boyfriend Brad (Billy Asher), to have the Christmas dinner at the home of Frank's mother-in-law. Frank, asleep, decides to drive through an unknown shortcut using a secondary road, where the weirdest things happen with his family and him. This low budget movie is terrific: although the story passes basically in a car and on an empty road, it is tense, scary, having a dreadful atmosphere, being certainly on of the best in the genre. The screenplay is excellent, having many ironic lines, the direction is tight and the cast is very sharp, alternating funny and frightening situations. This film is highly indicated for fans of `The Twilight Zone', `The Others', `Abra los Ojos', `El Espinazo del Diablo' and `X-Files'. The situation of Frank's family on the road without finding their destination or even an exit recalls Paul Hackett unsuccessfully trying to get home in `After Hours'. I saw on the cover of the DVD that this movie was awarded with many prizes in minor Festivals. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Rota da Morte' (`Route of the Death')

When this movie started my heart sank a little. It's going to be another of those, "People in car take a wrong turn, encounter one sort of slasher or other." How wrong I was, and what a little gem this film is. True, the occupants of the car do take a wrong turn, Frank Harrington is taking his family and his daughter's boyfriend to spend Christmas with his in-laws, but there this movie parts company with your average gore-fest. This, I believe, is for three reasons. The writers gave the cast great lines to read; the blood content is actually very low for such a film, and finally, it was inspired not to fill the car with swinging teens, but use a mixture of youngsters and, shall we say, more mature citizens. I'll not go into plot lines, but if you're like me, this movie will leave you with a satisfied grin on your face.