It’s often a long drive to the destination of any family holiday. Long drives bring forced conversation, occasional bickering and the pent up energy and frustration created by being locked in a metal box for hours, breathing in all of the smells associated with teenage kids.
So when the already frazzled Dad opts for an unplanned shortcut it almost instantly leads to more resentment and arguing, amplified when he nods off at the wheel momentarily.
Shortly after the car comes across a young woman in the middle of the road. The woman clutches a baby to her chest but appears in shock.
And now things get weird. With no map the car moves forward relentlessly, driven by desperation and apparently an endless tank of petrol. The events and occurrences become more random and unexpected, and the number of people in the car starts to dwindle. Everyone gets the chance to have their own personal freak out moment, some with more impact than others.
With no identifiable ‘bad guy’ or slasher/monster/whatever, Dead End is a strange experience the first go around. What starts with all the tell tale signs of a ‘murderer in cabin’ type deal quickly changes into a disconcerting and perpetually confusing drive to nowhere. Which coincidentally is how most long family drives feel anyway…
I would suspect that the second viewing might see the effectiveness severely diluted, but the important fact to remember is that there cannot be a second viewing until you have sat through the first. For those that are yet to run into this particular Dead End, I think that the first go around is worth checking out.
Final Rating – 7 / 10. A slightly thin but undoubtedly original horror/thriller that should keep your brow furrowed for an hour or so.
