Hallow Road

It's the middle of the night and a married couple (Rosamund Pyke and Matthew Rhys) are woken by a frantic 'phone call from their teenage daughter Alice. Alice has taken her father's car without permission, she has crashed it on a remote woodland road, hitting a young woman in the process. Mum (a paramedic) and Dad drive the 40 something miles to find her. Most of the movie consists of Alice talking on the 'phone to her parents in their vehicle and their drive is in real time, quite an interesting idea though it will not please everyone, no doubt some viewers will find it boring. The good performances and the urgency of the family's plight do help keep the movie together. This is a film that you could follow with your eyes closed for the bulk of the running time. And it also proves that suggested horror can be far more scary than actually seeing it. Hallow Road is a creepy and unnerving journey. However, it is not all good. For a start I found the ending a bit disappointing, I had hoped for more. Also the film is set in England/The UK, the road markings aren't British, the car's Satnav reads in miles but its speedometer is in KM/H (it was filmed in Ireland and the Czech Republic). And it is obvious that the vehicle isn't always moving when it is meant to be (bear in mind most of the plot takes place in the car). I didn't know what to expect from this suspense thriller, it is quite unique and I was fairly happy with it though I wouldn't watch it again.

Maddie (Rosamund Pike) and Frank (Matthew Rhys) have had an argument with their daughter Alice (Megan McDonnell). We only see the aftermath as she storms off, takes the car and runs over a young woman... on Hallow Road. It's the middle of the night, in the middle of a forest area and on a panicked call to her parents, we rush to the scene whilst Maddie, a paramedic gives emergency instruction on the phone. The car is where we stay as the tension ramps between Maddie and Frank, apportioning blame. We slowly learn the details that have brought them all to this point and they all realise the severity of the situation, as it all slips out of their control with devastating consequences. It's stark and bleak, sparse and cold. Chilling in fact. How far as a parent would you go to protect your child. Maddie and Frank are about to find out. Despite the tension, the pace is purposely slow. Driving through the night on empty roads, it's all dialogue, in the car, on the phone. As details emerge, plans are made and made untenable. You can build a vivid story with just words and this technique works well, but despite its thrifty runtime, it does wobble. It's worth sticking with though, it's eerie nature just about keeping things on track as the road twists and a solid score and carefully crafted sound design certainly help too.

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!

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.

For a story that's mostly set in the tight confines of a car, where conversations both in person, over phone, drive the narrative, the themes explored are surprisingly captivating, rich with psychological and supernatural contexts.

It kicks off at a slower pace, adopting a cautious tone, but once we move from "Act 1," there's an evident shift in gear and thereby in urgency, as everything starts to unravel in a way that has the potential to surprise the susceptible audience, given they have not already blindly guessed 'the twist' by then.

The suspense builds to a point where you can practically feel its indomitable presence taking over the storytelling. That said, the short length and a fairly disappointing conclusion might leave a a bitter aftertaste, though ambiguious nature of the ending would most likely be celebrated.