A Revengeful Road Trip

A Revengeful Road Trip

Bruce Von Stiers

Revenge is a powerful motivator. People who have been dishonored in some way sometimes seek revenge on those who harmed them. That does happen occasionally, in real life. It occurs sporadically in songs, but quite a bit in novels and in films. And often, revenge in films turn deadly. Extremely deadly.

A film that I just watched takes revenge and gives it a bit of a sideways twist. That film is Roadkill. The film is from Uncork'd Entertainment and Mythic Pictures, along with Sky Pro Studios.

The film opens by showing a house at the edge of the woods. A boy is getting into a refrigerator and feeding his dog food from it. Well, when mom comes home, this doesn't bode well for the boy. He is punished in a bizarre way.

Then, a decade or so later, we find a man hitchhiking on road. He sees a house down a path and sees a family there. And then a young woman pulls up and offers him a ride.

So, is this going to be an off kilter highway buddy film? A violence effecting road romance? A hitchhiker killer thriller? Well, there is a bit of all of those in this film.

The first thing I liked about this film is the car that the young woman is driving. It is a classic Chevy Nova SS, cherry red and slick looking. The second thing I liked was the driver. Very pretty with just a touch or haughtiness. She seems to be somewhat lost. She and the hitchhiker seem to be going to the same place, so maybe they can help each other out.

Then the film shifts to a murder scene. Two people are dead in a car. Not just any car though. It is another cool looking classic car, a Mercury Cougar. When the sheriff shows up, he and the medical examiner discuss whether this was the work of a known serial killer, the Highway Hunter. But maybe not. The Highway Hunter apparently hadn't claimed a victim in over a year.

So, the obvious conclusion the viewer might make is that the hitchhiker could be this serial killer they're talking about. But that leaves a whole bunch of unanswered questions. Like, where's the killer been? If it is the hitchhiker, why now? But there is a thread there as we learn earlier that the hitchhiker to trying to make it to Abbeyville for his mother's birthday.

Roadkill has several elements that make for a great thriller film. There is a beautiful young woman, a drifter hitchhiker type, somewhat inefficient law enforcement personnel, a few murders and a couple of classic sports cars.

Caitlin Carmichael is The Driver. She has appeared in episodes of The Good Doctor, NCIS: Los Angeles and Young Sheldon along with starring in the series Dwight In Shining Armor and co-starring with Bruce Willis, Megan Fox and Emile Hirsh in the film Midnight In The Switchgrass.

Ryan Knudson is The Hitchhiker. He played Doc Holliday in 30 Seconds In Hell and Jesus in the mini-series The Book of Revelation.

Warren Fast is Sheriff John Teagan. He appeared in Geostorm. He directed and appeared in the film Finding Grace, which he also wrote the screenplay for. Fast, along with his wife, Stacie Fast, produced this film. Stacie appeared in and co-produced Finding Grace. She also produced the short film, Trooper Evans.

Trenton Hudson is the deputy. He appeared in a Dua Lipa music video and starred in the thriller Dead Hand.

One of the more recognizable names in the film was Danielle Harris. From starring in a couple of the Halloween horror films to co-starring in the show That's Life to a whole bunch of films, she has over one hundred screen credits. She played the waitress at the diner that I mentioned earlier. William Childress plays the cook at the diner. He's been a doorman in a couple of horror films and a zombie in a television show.

Buddy Campbell plays the medical examiner. Brody Barcellona plays the boy at the start of the film. Christina R Gregg plays the boy's mother. Stephen LaDow is the owner of the gas station and Lindsay Ballif is a girl mechanic who works for him.

Other actors who had scenes in the film included George Howard Adams, Adrianna Jones, Ayden Payne, Bakari Blocton and Brad Napp. There was also Sami Martinez, Barbara Hooper and Jerry Brown. All of the supporting actors have film or television credits including Katie Scott, who appeared in the Fast's earlier film, Finding Grace. And for a few scenes in the film, Mia Salaveria was the stand-in for Caitlin Carmichael.

Warren Fast directed the film. The cinematography was by Joshua Lanier, who additionally was the editor and special effects supervisor. And he played one of the victims in the film. Brian Morgan was the sound mixer and Lindsay Bennet did makeup and special effects makeup.

As for special effects, Ken Speed was the special effects coordinator. From the film The Old Way to several episodes of Sleepy Hollow to Walker Texas Ranger, he has over two hundred screen credits as a special effects coordinator. And he worked on a Super Bowl too. MarcAnthony Baca was the stunt coordinator. He did stunts in The Quest and Allegiant and was stunt coordinator for a few other feature films.

A top-notch talent was brought in to provide the music. This was Daniel A. Davies, who composed music for such films as Halloween Kills, Halloween Kills and the recent remake of Firestarter.

The film also had an interesting theme song. Written and performed by The Velveteers, the song was titled Death Hex.

Roadkill is a very entertaining film. From the tagline of the film, “Driven by Revenge” you know that this will be a film about revenge. But the plot leads you in a certain direction only to slide into that sideways twist I mentioned earlier. Kind of like one of those sideway slides that the Nova does during the film.

The acting was well done, without overdoing the dialog. The cinematography was great, especially the car chase scenes. There was violence but not overly graphic. The music was nice, and the theme song somehow fit just right.

If you want a really good revenge themed film, then Roadkill should be on your must see list. It has a beautiful young woman who drive a badass classic sportscar, a hitchhiker who may not be what he seems and a few murders. What's not to like?

Roadkill is set to have its theatrical release on January 5 th .

The official website for Roadkill is https://roadkillfilm.com/ You will find a trailer for the film there along with information on where to watch it.

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