Dead End
***
DVD
Directed by
Jean-Baptiste Andrea
Fabrice Canepa
Written by
Jean-Baptiste Andrea
Fabrice Canepa
Cast
Ray Wise .... Frank Harrington
Lin Shaye .... Laura Harrington
Mick Cain .... Richard Harrington
Alexandra Holden .... Marion Harrington
Billy Asher .... Brad Miller
Amber Smith .... Lady in White
Karen S. Gregan .... Doctor
Sharon Madden .... Nurse
Steve Valentine .... Man in Black
Jimmie F. Skaggs .... First Worker
Clement Blake .... Second Worker
R
84 mins
Somedays, I really have to question my place in things, and swallow my pride.
This is one of those days. Behold in shock and wonder as I swallow my pride
right down and say that Lions Gate is in the midst of a turnaround.
How can I say that, you ask? Simple. They've been putting out good movies.
Longtime readers have watched me tear new holes in the company for a long time
now, and now I give them the credit that they're due. One of their newest
films, "Dead End," is a quality package that bundles plenty of atmospheric
scares than the competition.
So what we have here is the story of a family going on vacation, and the horror
their trip turns out to be.
I have to say, this takes real balls. The back of the box has a three line long
plot synopsis. I supply it here for the purposes of review.
"It's Christmas Eve and like every year, the Harringtons take a trip to their
in-laws to celebrate the holidays. Taking an unfamiliar shortcut, Mr.
Harrington makes the biggest mistake of his life, leading his family down a
terror-filled road with no end."
All we get in the way of text is three lines long on the back of the box.
Normally, text on the back of the box can be three paragraphs or more, and
instead, Dead End decided to go this incredibly daring route and just use three
lines of text.
Of course, the pedigree on this particular puppy looks pretty formidable--Best
International Feature at Montreal, Brussels gave it the Jury Price,
creature-corner.com called it "real white-knuckle fear" and
bloody-disgusting.com gave it four skull and crossbones.
The first seven minutes are enough by themselves to make me interested.
Alternating between mysterious sightings, the singing of Christmas carols, and
near-miss vehicle collisions, it's a wonderful mix of the mundane and the spine
tingling. In fact, by the time twenty minutes have passed, Dead End evolves
into this incredibly terrifying film. Disturbing and violent things happen to
the Harringtons with alarming regularity, for reasons on which we can only
speculate.
And in all of this, the most disturbing development: every clock the Harringtons
can see has stopped fast at seven-thirty.
Which, sadly, suggests a plotline. I'm going to lay out the guess right now at
the twenty minute mark, my credibility on the line, that the Harringtons died
back in the beginning during that "near-miss vehicle collision" I mentioned.
And, indeed, that's exactly what happened. It's sadly predictable, and yet,
somehow, it's still worth your time to watch. There's a definite attitude of
suspense in here, just enough blood to frighten, and some twists that you won't
see coming.
This is what gets me. The plot is so tired that an ending can actually be
foreseen at the twenty minute mark. The set design is an incredible achievement
in minimalism-it's a road and some forests, with a few minutes in a hospital.
We're spending an hour and fifteen minutes on a road in the dark, and it's still
one of the scariest movies I've seen in quite some time. It's the incredible
performances turned in by the Harrington family that makes this a chilling
endeavor. They are so believable that they may well be your own family, on
their way to Christmas at Grandma's House or some similar archetype. And
believability is the root of all horror-the scariest things are the things that
could happen to you.
The ending is where most of those twists are contained, and as twists go,
they're pretty fair ones. Including one that sort of springs up by surprise.
The special features just plain old don't exist. There's not a preview or a
subtitle or an audio option to be had anywhere on the disc. Why even bother
putting it on DVD if not to take advantage of the massive storage and potential
for use?
All in all, though the plot is eerily familiar, and the set design is minimalist
as they come, Dead End manages to bring several dissimilar elements together to
work in a dread harmony that should leave you quite scared.
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