It was written somewhere that there are no original plots. But it’s not about the tropes; it is how the filmmakers use them. Writer-director Warren Fast’s Roadkill opens with the familiar parental abuse/sexual repression motif that leads to horrific kills in slashers. The classic characters are all here: the beautiful young girl provocatively dressed and a broody, breaded adult man. I thought, “Here’s the final girl, and the male will no doubt be the wisecracking psycho in this tale of blood, gore, and revenge.” How wrong was I?
Directed and written by Warren Fast, Roadkill turns the genre of action-filled road trip crime/horror films sideways by adding piling bodies and a style so sharp you could shave with it. The work addresses confronting trauma, seeking justice, and overcoming personal hardship, all on a budget.
In the opening, shot in black and white, a young, disheveled boy’s mother comes in and verbally and physically abuses him for not eating a sandwich. He is chased into the dog house, where he spends the night, waking to find his beloved puppy horribly killed. The boy grows and becomes known as The Hitchhiker (Ryan Knudson). In the summer of 1983, he ventures forth into the southeastern United States. The Hitchhiker is doing his best Easy Rider impression, seeing the country and trying to come to terms with life.
“The sheriff and his deputy think the Hitchhiker and Driver are the killers…”
Down the road comes a young lady, the quintessential cliche of a final girl, known as The Driver (Caitlin Carmichael). She comes complete with a cherry red lollipop in her mouth. The Driver is working on lists and maps when she meets The Hitchhiker. After some oddly banal dialogue, the two head for the next town over. While gassing up, The Hitchhiker chats with the Sheriff (Warren Fast). He’s on official duty, searching for any leads busy for the mess bodies recently killed by someone dubbed The Highway Hunter. The victims are primarily drifters or call girls. The sheriff and his deputy (Trenton Hudson) think the Hitchhiker and Driver are the killers since they are strangers, so the chase is on.
Roadkill features all the fun, gunplay, tensions, and explosions a good thriller is meant to have. The practical effects are wonderfully done and add to the excitement. It is just that these things happen for very different reasons than expected. The film slips slowly into something different from the what the stock characters make us think after being introduced. Promising Young Woman comes to mind as The Driver slips in and out of using charm to disarm officers and male townsfolk.
Danielle Harris has a small role as a local server and is always fun to see. Buddy Campbell does quite well as the quirky doctor who wears his Friday the 13th shirt under his lab coat as he describes the murders. Carmichael is brilliant at what she does. Besides her obvious physical charms, she does her stunts, which is mighty impressive. Knutson keeps his performance and line delivery low-key until certain moments. These scenes become explosive and memorable when he finally unfurls his rage.
Roadkill is set in a world of deception, sexual repression, and destruction. Fast highlights how some childhood memories are so horrific that they make one’s life a crusade. His film turns this on its head with a gut punch to the stomach and deft uppercut to the face of the genre. It is well worth taking this unexpected trip thanks the work of strong actors and the sheer number of surprise on display.
"…explosive and memorable..."
