DEAD END
Written and Directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea & Fabrice Canepa
Featuring Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Alexandra Holden
Amber Smith, Mick Cain and Billy Asher
2003
Lion's Gate Films

A horror movie that takes place entirely in the family car? You betcha. Is it scary? Ohhh yeah...

It's Christmas eve, and the Harringtons are driving to grandma's house. Dad (Ray Wise) decides to take a short cut, and things just start falling apart from there. The road is dark, the family is constantly bitching at one another, and to make matters worse, there's a woman in the middle of the street, holding her dead baby, looking rather ghoulish herself. People start dying, madness takes hold, and things get weirder and weirder out on the scary, lonely road.

Is this a slasher film? No. Is this a "wrong turn" movie? Not really. It's a ghost story, albeit quite unconventional, based on the old "Woman In White" urban myth. For 95% of the movie, the action takes place either in the car, or in the street right near the car. Doesn't sound too interesting, does it? Well believe me, the movie totally works.

Thanks to some excellent casting, you can enjoy the movie just based on the acting & characters alone. Ray Wise and Lin Shaye are one of the craziest on-screen married couples I've witnessed since THE REF: they curse at one another, say the most awful shit, and as things get more and more intense, they take turns flipping out. The movie belongs to Lin Shaye, however, as she's got some of the greatest scenes ever. She is insane! Unbelievable. You don't see acting like this very often at all.

The filmmakers did a great job of keeping us in the dark, putting the audience right there with the scared family. You never see too much of what's going on, never get an idea where the hell the characters are. Basically you're in for the ride just like the Harringtons.

This movie scared the piss out of me, made me laugh, kept me on the edge of my seat, and scrambled my brains in the end. Lion's Gate scores again, releasing another wisely-chosen horror flick.

(November 2004)