Dead End--Scary and Minimalist

Dead End

***

DVD

Directed by

Jean-Baptiste Andrea

Fabrice Canepa

Written by

Jean-Baptiste Andrea

Fabrice Canepa

Cast

Ray Wise .... Frank Harrington

Lin Shaye .... Laura Harrington

Mick Cain .... Richard Harrington

Alexandra Holden .... Marion Harrington

Billy Asher .... Brad Miller

Amber Smith .... Lady in White

Karen S. Gregan .... Doctor

Sharon Madden .... Nurse

Steve Valentine .... Man in Black

Jimmie F. Skaggs .... First Worker

Clement Blake .... Second Worker

R

84 mins

Somedays, I really have to question my place in things, and swallow my pride.

This is one of those days. Behold in shock and wonder as I swallow my pride right down and say that Lions Gate is in the midst of a turnaround.

How can I say that, you ask? Simple. They've been putting out good movies. Longtime readers have watched me tear new holes in the company for a long time, and now I give them the credit they are due. One of their newest films, "Dead End", is a quality package that bundles more atmospheric scares than the competition.

So what we have here is the story of a family going on vacation, and the horror the trip turns out to be. I have to say, this takes real balls. The back of the box has a three-line plot synopsis. I supply it here for the purpose of review.

"It's Christmas Eve and like every year, the Harringtons take a trip to their in-laws to celebrate the holidays. Taking an unfamiliar shortcut, Mr Harrington makes the biggest mistake of his life, leading his family down a terror-filled road with no end."

All we get in the way of text is three lines long on the back of the box. Normally, text on the back of the box can be three paragraphs or more, and instead, Dead End decided to go this incredibly daring route.

Of course, the pedigree on this particular puppy looks pretty formidable: Best International Feature at Montreal; Brussels gave it the Jury Price; creature-corner.com called it "real white-knuckle fear" and bloody-disgusting.com gave it four skull-and-crossbones.

The first seven minutes are enough to make me interested. Moving between mysterious sightings, the singing of Christmas carols, and vehicle collisions, it's a wonderful mix of the mundane and the spinetingling. In fact, by the time twenty minutes have passed, Dead End evolves into this incredibly terrifying film. Disturbing and violent things happen to the Harringtons with alarming regularity, the reasons for which we can only speculate.

And in all of this, the most disturbing development: every clock the Harringtons can see has stopped fast at seven-thirty.

Which, sadly, suggests a plotline. I'm going to lay my credibility out on the line at the twenty-minute mark that the Harringtons died back in the beginning during that vehicle collision I mentioned. Indeed, that's exactly what happened. It's sadly predictable, and yet somehow, it's still worth your time to watch. There's a definite attitude of suspense in here, just enough blood to frighten, and some twists that you won't see coming.

This is what gets me. The plot is so tired that an ending can actually be foreseen at the twenty-minute mark. The set design is an incredible achievement in minimalism—it's a road and some forest, with a few minutes in a hospital. We're spending an hour and fifteen minutes on a road in the dark, and it's still one of the scariest movies I've seen in quite some time. It's the incredible performances turned in by the Harrington family that makes this a chilling endeavor. They are so believable that they may well be your own family on their way to Christmas at Grandma's House or some similar archetype. And believability is the root of all horror—the scariest things are things that could happen to you.

The ending is where most of those twists are contained, and as twists go, they're pretty fair ones—including one that springs up by surprise.

The special features just plain-ol don't exist. There's not a preview or a subtitle or an audio option to be had anywhere on the disc. Why even bother putting it on DVD if not to take advantage of the massive storage and potential for use?

All in all, though the plot is eerily familiar, and the set design is as minimalist as they come. Dead End manages to bring several dissimilar elements together to work in a dread harmony that should leave you quite scared.

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