Hot Picks
|
|
|
Road Head
USA 2020
produced by Jon Paul Burkhart, David Gunning, IVM Capital (executive), Ramon Gramstad (executive) for Nine Ten Films, Delco-Cut Productions
directed by David Del Rio
starring Elizabeth Grullon, Damian Joseph Quinn, Clayton Farris, Adam Nemet, Paul T. Taylor, David McKee (as Misty Violet), Kevin Mouren-Laurens, Schoen Hodges, Clay Acker, Sierra Santana, Ryan Sutton Stevens
written by Justin Xavier, music by David L. Small, special effects by Craig J. McIntyre, Dragan Radic, Josh Russell, Sierra Russell
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
The trip wasn't under a good star from square one, as Stephanie
(Elizabeth Grullon), who has just been dumped by her boyfriend David (Clay
Acker) but refuses to let his memory go, has pretty much forced herself on
her best friend Bryan (Clayton Farris) and his boyfriend Alex (Damian
Joseph Quinn), who had planned a romantic trip to a remote lake, and
that's something where broken-hearted Stephanie's definitely in the way -
which is not made any better by her and Alex not really getting along. And
then the lake they were heading to turns out to be dried out - little
wonder though as it's in the middle of the desert. But all of this is
easily topped by the arrival of "the Executioner", a guy dressed
in chainmail carrying a sword - and he's quick to cut Bryan's head off,
pretty much without warning. Stephanie and Alex get away, but the
Executioner takes possession of their car, pretty much leaving them
stranded until he returns. When he returns, Stephanie decides to put up
the fight, but with at best mixed results, as the Executioner decides to
keep her alive, impressed by her courage - but he takes her captive and
wants to make her part of his society, led by Carl (Paul T. Taylor) and
his idiot sons Jared (Kevin Mouren-Laurens) and Larry (Schoen Hodges),
with their only "woman" Felicity Fellatio being a cross-dressing
man (David McKee a.k.a. Misty Violet), so they're in desperate need of
someone to breed their children lest they die out. But especially when
seeing that pathetic bunch, Stephanie proves to have quite a bit of spunk
left in her, and she tries to manipulate the group into letting her go,
and doesn't shy away from getting her own hands dirty - but courageous as
she may be, Stephanie isn't a skilled fighter, lacks a plan to escape, and
has no idea whether Alex will show up to have her back when she most needs
it ...
Now above synopsis might not sound like it, but this is
actually a pretty hilarious movie - though not in an all-out comedy way,
as it does remain true to its B movie roots and doesn't play just for the
laughs, and the cast keep their straight faces, but the dialogue has its
poignancy turned to the max, and the deadpan delivery of all of the
involved makes this pretty cool entertainment already. But despite the
laughs, this movie has its fair share of violence that might not be
represented too explicitely but also leaves only little to the
imagination. And add to that an atmospheric directorial effort making
great use of the very impressive landscaptes, and you've got yourself a
very enjoyable genre flick.
|
|
|