Zzyzx

Just saw a cut of this film and it was fantastic! Exciting thriller starring that dude Lemonhead from THE Shield. Great cinematography, story kept me guessing. Lots of action, drugs, blood, sex, fun! Very mysterious, moved at a great pace! Story about a couple of guys who run over a dude with their car then try to cover it up, only to bump into the dudes wife 5 minutes later. Then all hell breaks loose! Really built up the legend of Zzyzx Road really well. Had some great supernatural elements. Had this really cool car crash sequence and the performance from all of the actors were top notch. Had that sexy actress from The Life Aquatic too. Movie zipped on by at 90 minutes....wish it was longer because the ride was truly exhilarating!

Check it out. Truly, a great, great movie.

ZZYZX is a sign you see in the middle of nowhere on I-15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas- my wife and I were wondering how it is pronounced-

Zissicks? Zissk?

We always make the joke that north of Las Vegas is Area 51 and south of Las Vegas is Area 52-60, culminating in ZZYZX. heh heh heh. There always appear to be suspicious little enclaves and compounds out in this neck of the woods. And of course, China Lake and the Marine Base for real.

There is no more dessicated place than the Mojave Desert to choose as a location for a thriller, and this is sounding like a great film and a great locale.

I love suspense/thriller movies and I was very impressed with this one. ZZYZX is beautifully done in all aspects and takes you on an exciting ride from start to finish. It is a very gritty film and the camera work and setting give you a very desolate and isolated feeling that enhances the great performances given by the actors. The mystique of the road itself and the background of the compound/Zillers are great starting points for this romp in the desert. You are quickly caught up in the action and the characters and never see the twists and turns coming. There is enough sex, drugs and music to keep the pace up and you wanting more. The character of Lou, portrayed wonderfully by Kenneth Johnson, is very dark and unsettling. I found this movie very enjoyable to watch and would recommend everyone find a way to see it. It is truly great. My only regret is that I was unable to see it in a theater.

Funny, but I don't see many reviewers (here or otherwise) commenting on the title sequence. The titles are done in a very imaginative way. In fact, it is so unusual (but not unique) and subtle that my friend didn't even notice that we were watching the title sequence. One of the reasons I enjoy independent films is because you get little gems like this after you sift through enough dust and sand. Without the title sequence, I would only be giving this two or three stars.

However, if you remove the title sequence from the equation, this is not a particularly good film. The story is acceptable and the film looks like most independent films, but the acting is pretty bad. The leads might even achieve acceptability, but the secondary characters and extras (or whatever you want to call them) are Grade-A amateurs. It doesn't help that all the characters are pretty off-putting and extreme. I believe that you have to care for at least one character in a movie, or at least empathize with a character, in order to enjoy it. Directors understand this and often achieve success by having you identify with multiple characters at different points within the story. "Zzyzx" fails in this respect.

Finally, the pacing is pretty poor. I wouldn't say that the movie is boring, but it comes pretty close.

Final advice, rent it and watch the title sequence (which means you have to sit through several very boring and poorly-acted minutes prior to the titles) and then rewind and watch them again. If, after watching another 15 minutes of the movie, you're bored or just disinterested, you can take the DVD out, return it, and you won't have missed anything.

Just want to point out that this film is DIFFERENT from the film starring Katherine Heigl. These two films have been getting mixed up a lot because of their similar names. To be clear, Zyzzyx Road is a 2006 film starring Katherine Heigl, Leo Grillo, and Tom Sizemore. The film is about an accountant (Grillo) who has an affair with a seductress (Heigl) in Vegas. Heigl's psychotic boyfriend (Sizemore)turns up and things get ugly. Zzyzyx is a film that came out around the same time by Richard Halpern starring Ryan Fox and Robyn Cohen. In this film two friends crossing the desert get themselves in a dangerous situation, which makes it terribly clear that desolation and desperation can have a frightening effect. There has been a bit of a battle between these two films, look it up online.