Woodyanders Review of Road Kill

Road Kill (2010)

An offbeat and unusual supernatural "danger on the road" horror chiller

[8/10 · 3 October 2011]

A quartet of teenagers on a camping trip in the Australian outback are terrorized by a massive two trailer truck. While the basic premise sounds cliché and unpromising, director Dean Francis and writer Clive Hopkins thankfully eschew the standard folks being stalked by some nutjob in a scary vehicle "danger on the road" plot in favor of a more fresh, novel, and inspired supernatural take on the genre; this time its the vehicle itself that has some kind of demonic life of its own and hence is the root cause of the jeopardy our protagonists find themselves in. Moreover, Francis does an excellent job of creating and sustaining a potently spooky and unsettling atmosphere which becomes more increasingly dark, grim, and hopeless as the bleak narrative unfolds towards a startling downbeat conclusion. Francis also makes fine use of the arid desert location; we get a strong and palpable feeling of total isolation and vulnerability while the merciless severity of the unsparing desert heat is especially well conveyed. Naturally, there's also a tremendous amount of nerve-jangling tension, a handy helping of grisly gore, and even an extremely sizzling sex scene at the very start of the movie. Xavier Samuel as amiable nice guy Samuel, Bob Morley as the likable Craig, Georgina Haig as the feisty Liz, and Sophie Lowe as the sweet Nina all make for attractive and appealing leads. David Argue makes a brief, but memorably creepy appearance as a crazed psychopath. The monstrously enormous black truck itself is truly imposing and intimidating. Carl Robertson's stunning cinematography boasts plenty of neat stylish visual flourishes and offers lots of striking shots of the desolate landscape. Rafael May's rattling score does the heart-pounding trick. A praiseworthy and interesting change of pace entry in this nifty little fright film sub-genre.