Pedágio Mortal

Spoiler Free: This movie was on my horror watchlist from a few months ago and I was worried by the less than stellar reviews thus far...So I wasn't expecting much, but I'd have to say I kind of liked the story. It was familiar to 1408 and Incidents in a Ghostland, both which I loved. If you liked either of these movies, give this one a chance. I liked the theme of the movie of "paying the Toll".

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.

I quite enjoyed this film. Low key believable start then gets more and more weird. What did it for me was a reasonably clear cut ending. Too many films seem to want to have some puzzling incomplete ending leaving you hanging. Not this. Jordan Hayes looks yummy.

After reading some negative reviews on here I wasn't expecting too much from this movie but after watching it I can only conclude that I was entertained for the entire duration of The Toll. It has a good mystery level that keeps you focussed, the horror parts are mild but certainly creepy enough to be good, and the acting wasn't bad at all and that from the whole, very small, cast. There are some things that don't make much sense, just small details you shouldn't pay too much attention to, instead just enjoy a story that wasn't bad at all even though some people here seems to hate it. My wife and I were entertained and that's not always the case with this genre of movies.

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.