Road Head

The acting is better than you’d expect. It would be so easy to just mug for the camera, scream, and ham it up. But instead, the cast tries to breathe life into their characters, creating well-rounded roles. These feel like real people. The real standout is Damian Joseph Quinn as Alex. A fragile young geek who finds the inner strength to defend himself. His character arc is by far the most compelling in no small part due to Quinn’s performance.

But what are other people saying about Road Head? Holy s#!t, but internet trolls seem upset about a horror movie starring gay men and a woman of color. It is nasty out there talking about woke culture and SJWs in horror. As though the only people who should get murdered on screen are white people. But they aren’t the only ones bringing up the film’s wokeness. Other reviewers talk about the social commentary of the piece. And I mean, maybe? Ok, fine, the lake they were heading to is dried up because of global warming. And yes, I will concede that the antagonists are (on the surface) hetero normative stereotypes who prey on marginalized groups. And when our minority protagonists call for help from the authorities, they are ignored and have to save themselves. I will grant you all of that.

“…a gory good time.”

However, the antagonists also have a drag queen (David McKee in a hilarious turn) as one of their leaders. Not only that, but the drag queen has to keep reminding them she is a drag queen. The antagonists are in denial about the nature of their relationship with McKee’s characters, who bosses them about in exchange for sexual favors.  So the commentary, if there is any, gets undercut and muddled by the comedy and the gore.

I don’t honestly know if the filmmakers were trying to make a “message” film, make a fun exploitation film, or both. If you wanna look for deeper meaning, I suppose you could find it, or you could just enjoy Road Head for what it is: 90 minutes of slapstick, gore, and the occasional heartfelt talk.