Fox Hunt Drive

Drew Walkup’s Fox Hunt Drive immediately opens on the aftermath of an unexplained car crash. A female character climbs out of the flipped vehicle, wields a handgun, and mutters three simple yet revealing words: “Where are you?” The circumstances scream of danger and apprehension. A frantic camera, a remote area, and labored breathing create a cryptic fear while the audience attempts to make sense of everything that is happening.

This panicky, gun-wielding woman must be our heroine, right? A sudden thump on the head with a tree branch cuts things to black. In response to the abrupt blackout, the film takes us back in time before the car wreck; before the uneasiness took hold.

Alison (Lizzie Zerebko) is an architect who has all of the credentials to prove her value. Yet, Alison is unable to obtain an actual career. Instead, she’s trying to make ends meet as a ride-share driver. Voice-over tells viewers that Alison uses her architect mentality in everyday life. “To plan is more than just preparation. It is to conceive a desired outcome. To design the shape of one’s future.” When no job interview goes right, Alison has no choice but to rely on her ride-share job as her primary source of income.

“…when Alison snoops in the passenger’s bag, she finds blood-stained jewelry and a gun.”

During Alison’s latest ride-share shift, she witnesses a number of characters: an ultra dude-bro duo, an exasperating chatterbox, and a potentially married couple in the midst of the silent treatment. Her car is always brimming with awkwardness. That uncomfortableness turns into numbing skepticism when a suspicious passenger, played by the devilishly handsome Michael Olavson, gets into Alison’s car.

In his possession is a mysterious duffel bag, and the man implores Alison to drive him to a designated location. Alison is inveigled into taking the enigmatic passenger to his destination, but when Alison snoops in the passenger’s bag, she finds blood-stained jewelry and a gun. Through an unforeseen series of events, Alison turns to the passenger for help. What has she gotten herself into?

Fox Hunt Drive tackles every driver’s worst nightmare: picking up an unhinged or violent passenger, and getting caught in the crosshairs of their odious gaze. The driver prays that the passenger will go on his or her way without dragging them into their illicit affairs. To that end, Michael Olavson gives an exceptional performance as the dodgy passenger, giving off eerie vibes in subtle ebullitions of anger. For the most part, the passenger tries to keep the conversation light, going as far as to buy Alison a good old Coke. It seems like the passenger is trying to uphold a veneer of conviviality.