Dead Stop

The movie gets all 3 stars purely for that one greatest dialogue ever! 'do you want me to hold that for you?' I think if you find a woman who is willing to aim your ding song for you while you wee is going to be a keeper.

A well made film, with attractive visuals, keen acting, likeable characters and an atmosphere that at times has one thinking they're in a Clint Eastwood western. There is an earnest and intimate effort here to provide a thought provoking and emotive experience. The only thing is, and it's quite a significant thing, is that it's not as scary as it indeed should be, billing itself to be a horror. But in saying that the scenes are done with careful consideration and all round it's a good effort. The story itself is not an original one, it's been done before many times, the stuck in the middle of nowhere with some gruesome creature hunting them down scenario, but what many other horror films lack, unlike Dead Stop, is creativity and attention to detail. You could do a lot worse if you're looking for an aesthetically effective film, even if it's not particularly spooky there's still portions of this to appreciate.

Let's just start with what another reviewer called an unnecessary sex scene. This occurred when a woman who was too drunk to walk was groped and then straddled by her friend's boyfriend as she said "no, we can't do this." What a lovely way to introduce our 2 main protagonists. This is followed by our male protagonist being extorted for more sex by a third character. But she assures him that she is a "better lay than drunken Barbie," so I guess there's nothing wrong with this situation either. This was made in 2011. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Everything else is as stupid and bad as every other review described. Cheap sets, terribly unbelievable dialogue, awful acting, offensive plot points, weak terrible characters, and criminally bad score and sound mixing. Cinematography was bad. Lighting was bad. Everything was bad, with no redeeming quality. Still, does not come close to being "so bad it's good." This is "so bad I hate it."

Seven idiots are in a van in the desert, one of whom is a child. Also, in this universe, a Zoology professor lives and dresses like Indiana Jones, except that his girlfriend is a trashy druggy.

Don't waste your time. A mid-day nap is more worthwhile than this horribly conceived atrocity.

Great film. Glad I watched, and enjoyed the suspense! A must watch. Always great to get a chance to support the indie genre. If you like a road trip movie, turned horror, this will be the perfect match. The acting is what you expect for this genre, while still keeping the story alive. Well... almost alive... And don't forget, it has Cathy Baron who everyone loves from Justified. I was able to rent it easily on amazon, and just have a late night thrill. It is shot well, but pretty traditional for the build up to the "shock" moments, but that is what you expect. Editorial also falls in line with the genre. I would recommend this film if you enjoy a simple story, with the right kind of horror.

This is something that bothered me that probably won't bother many other people watching this movie. They are headed to Mammoth Lakes and somehow wind up lost deep in the Mojave Desert somewhere. I have been to this area many times. It's difficult to convey just how stupid you would have to be to head out for Mammoth Lakes and wind up on a dirt road somewhere in the desert like that.

Beyond that bit of nonsense, this is an okay monster movie. Some people get lost and wind up in the middle of the desert. They decide to stop until daylight and do some drinking. The next day, their car won't start because movie. They are stuck in the desert with almost no food or water. That night, they see some headlights of some other people who are out here for some reason or other. Then the headlights vanish. The monster attacks. The rest of the movie is them trying not to get killed by whatever this thing is.

Th cast of this is pretty good for a low budget monster movie. It's pretty well shot and looks good. The monster is okay though they don't do anything really creative or interesting with it. It's just a monster that kills people because it's a monster that kills people. The plot is passable if generic but they do throw in a lot of pointless relationship drama stuff early on that doesn't really add anything and is dropped as soon as the monster starts attacking. It has a twist ending that they should have just left off. That knocked a couple of points off.