Hallow Road

I really liked the movie, the premise, the suspense and it keeps you at the edge of your seat, the acting is great and exceptional even the girl who played alice via phone and the mystery woman all good but and it's a BIG BUT at the end what the police officer's were discussing about trauma could be known from phone records or just check the call log. It seems they couldn't find a better reasoning which leaves a bit of source taste but still the movie is a must watch.

This film had so much potential yet failed to delivery the major blow to be classed as a wonderful thriller. Yes, it's pretty clear that this is a storyline example of trauma/parenthood, but I think it could have been projected in better light at the end. The film itself wasn't all bad, the acting was good and it was actually quite believable up until quite late on. Half way through this film I had it down for a possible 7/8 but sadly the meaningless/emotion-only ending left it somewhat short of that mark.

In the categories "disturbingly realistic" and "true nightmares you really don't want to go through yourself", Hallow Road is a film that scores very high. Director Babak Anvari ("I Came By") delivers a very intense and compelling thriller here, even though the story largely takes place in one enclosed location (a car) and has only two main characters (and also a few voices over the phone).

The concept is simple, but that makes it even more efficient. In the middle of the night, parents Maddie and Franck receive a panicky phone call from their teenage daughter Alice. She caused an accident with her father's car. The car is stuck and damaged, but - much worse - there is another girl lying motionless on the road. The parents jump in the car and stay in touch with Alice, but during the long journey the problems pile up. Is the girl who was hit by a car still alive? Where is the ambulance? Why did Alice drive to such a remote place? Was she sober? Will this incident destroy the rest of her life?

There are 2 main reasons why "Hallow Road" is the most haunting and unforgettable thriller you will see this year (and perhaps also in the coming years). First and foremost because it is - simply - a realistic scenario. The chance this horror will happen to yourself, or someone close to you, is much greater than, say, moving into a haunted house or having to fight werewolves and zombies. You read about hit-and-run accidents almost daily, and behind each of these incidents is a tragic story for both sides. Secondly, because Matthew Rhys and - especially - Rosamund Pike give away such incredibly strong performances. Director Anvari felt that the story couldn't just end like a random news fact, and so there are some weird twists in the script towards the end. Still very absorbing, though. The ending is completely open to interpretation, and that too is the best they could have done. Powerful film, recommended!

Pike was the calling card drawing me into this film. It's a low budget affair with almost all the visual action taken on by the two principal actors. I don't want to get too much away since this film tends to unnerve the viewer through auditory means, and the less you know the better going in. I think they could have gone a few different ways with the narrative other than what was done to make it better, but in itself it's pretty well done and acted. It won't be everyone's cup of tea so to speak, and personally I think it as it is could have been part of a fear trilogy or something like that rather than a full length feature.

I feel a bit gaslit by this one as critics and audience reviews are pretty good but I just didn't connect with it.

Hallow Road takes place in near real time mostly inside of a car as two parents race to the scene of an accident (on "Hallow Road") their daughter has been involved in. I say "near" real time because the drive is only 40 minutes and yet surely takes up longer in the movie as it's ~80%+ of the runtime.

The problem for me is that this felt like a cheap episode of a TV drama that would be shown on ITV. The parents were annoying, particularly the father and the car setting began to get tedious, especially every time the sat-nav told the audience how far we had to go. For some this will rachet up tension and desperation to get there quicker, but for me the journey felt like a slow crawl.

For me the ending left much to be desired. An earlier throwaway line about how the parents "will never find resolution" felt like expectations management from the director - when I heard this I prepared for the worst and was still disappointed. Another cop out ending in a critically acclaimed indie movie? Surely not?!

The second twist is revealed when the lights come up, but this one itself was largely guessable if you were paying attention - but even if you weren't, spelling it out in this fashion felt like an odd bolt-on to the movie. It would have benefitted from being included in the film and not the credits.

Overall Hallow Road is a largely tepid, slightly creepy story of parents rushing to the aid of the child but I now grow weary of so many indie films choosing to use amibiguity as a means to add weight to their story. Sometimes I would just like a tied up ending.