The Toll

So this was an enjoyable, although been done before 'urban myth' psychological film that was well acted and directed till the final five minutes. The usual 7st women against the 13st man ensues and then an even sillier end, would have got a respectable 7/10 if it hadn't have been so stupid, great pity.

This is primary a jumpscare film with a psychological horror element to it. The most obvious meaning of the Toll Man is the killer stalking the two main characters on the road. The more subtle meaning is the "toll" of the past baggage these two characters carry with them from their past. That's where the visions of the hurtful family characters come into play.

Unfortunately, they didn't take this idea all the way through to the end and messed up the ending. Instead they went for the mediocre ending which I won't mention. The acting wasn't that great but I was willing to overlook it if the screenplay had been a bit smarter. So this is worth a watch, but not a second one. Missed opportunity to make a low budget film into a smart horror film.

The film is about a female passenger spending a night with a suspicious male Taxi driver in a demonic hellscape. A hellscape created by the Toll Man, he invades and disrupts the mind and won't let them out, for the toll he seeks is something primal.

Frankly, I really admired its aspirational tone, and the supposed themes it was trying to deal with (like trust, loneliness and confronting the demons of the past) since the 1st act is terrific, and the 2nd act is decent, with enough intrigue mystery, and drama. But in the 3rd act, the final confrontation becomes an absolute abomination as everything that was established (the characterization, the themes, the emotional set-ups for Spencer), completely get undone by a superficial and generic psycho ending that made me very angry. Not because I expected something, but this film aspired to stand out from the crowd, with its interesting and emotionally resonant characters.

5 stars less for a terrible 3rd act.

There seems to be a broad spectrum of reviews for this movie, from 2 to 9 stars. I'm going to settle in the middle. It had a great premise, and potential to be a franchise, "The Toll Man" , but from a strong opening, to a very muddled middle section, and a disappointing ending it kind of just petered out. The acting was okay, the storyline was all over the place, and never seemed to fully commit itself to being a horror movie. I would suggest psychological thriller with supernatural undertones that are never fully realised. There was a lot of supernatural stuff going on, but the ending suggested otherwise, and so many story threads that went nowhere. In retrospect, 4 was quite generous.

An Uber driver picks up a young female passenger. Throughout the movie it is unclear if he is sincere or sinister, and this psychological tension lasts very well throughout. He is obviously attracted to her, but when they get stuck on an alternative dimensional road, where there are no outs and time does not move forward. Is he her savior or he is "in on it" and the one she should be the most afraid of?

The creepiness of "The Toll" out-scales the several jumpscares in the movie. For a low-budget film I would say it is smartly done, using very few scenarios that are easy to create (the car, public roads, old house) and very simple special effects. In this respect the movie manages to pull a lot from a small budget and the jumpscares are placed correctly and not overly-done.

As for acting, I think Jordan Hayes does a good job of portraying a distressed woman ("Cami") without being hysteric and irrational. So, whats missing from this movie? Since the scenery is limited, no big effects or extraordinary acting, I feel this kind of production need to bring something extra to the table, and definitely not end on an anti-climax as it is. Maybe dive deeper into the alternate dimensional idea, maybe there is a different way out? Something that will make the audience think.

Overall watchable but will not win any Oscars. Exact score: 48 / 100.