Hallow Road

For a story that's mostly set in the tight confines of a car, where conversations both in person, over phone, drive the narrative, the themes explored are surprisingly captivating, rich with psychological and supernatural contexts.

It kicks off at a slower pace, adopting a cautious tone, but once we move from "Act 1," there's an evident shift in gear and thereby in urgency, as everything starts to unravel in a way that has the potential to surprise the susceptible audience, given they have not already blindly guessed 'the twist' by then.

The suspense builds to a point where you can practically feel its indomitable presence taking over the storytelling. That said, the short length and a fairly disappointing conclusion might leave a a bitter aftertaste, though ambiguious nature of the ending would most likely be celebrated.

I like films like this, ones that are single scene phone conversations. Whilst not up to the classic (in my opinion) 'Locke', Hallow road uses the conceit well enough to grip your attention for most of its short runtime. Going into it just having read the short IMDB synopsis also helped me to appreciate the unfolding plot, so that's what I suggest you do. Some repetitive dialogue and a not entirely satisfying ending drag this down to a 6/10. But it is overall, an atmospheric and tense 80 minutes.

When parents "Maddie" (Rosamund Pike) and husband "Frank" (Matthew Rhys) get a call from their teenage daughter to say she has been in a road accident, they immediately get into their car and head to the quite far distant and remote scene. The rest of the film sees the couple trying to think what is best to do as the paramedic mother tries to help with an immediate problem whilst the father takes a more long-term and sacrificial view in the event of a worst case scenario. Things only get more fraught when another couple encounter "Alice" first and her folks become increasingly concerned that their "help" might only make matters even worse! With only the intensity of their car as the scenario as this all takes place via the telephone, and what I must admit was probably the slowest and/or safest driving to the site of an accident I've ever witnessed on film (or anywhere else, for that matter) we are introduced to a couple with demons galore and a somewhat confused sense of the ridiculous and of their own priorities. It's that very superficiality and flakiness that makes this a bit more potent than your average thriller and at times it has a characterful intensity akin to a late night radio play with limited visuals and audio: just two people and an increasingly effective and frenzied script. Rhys tends to overact a bit but Pike and the gripping pace of the film deliver something that asks what we might do for our kids, but in a much less typical and frankly more pragmatic fashion. It's only eighty minutes long and that really helps to keep the film focussed and though it isn't a film you are likely to recall for very long, it does work well enough on a big screen.

This film had so much potential yet failed to delivery the major blow to be classed as a wonderful thriller. Yes, it's pretty clear that this is a storyline example of trauma/parenthood, but I think it could have been projected in better light at the end. The film itself wasn't all bad, the acting was good and it was actually quite believable up until quite late on. Half way through this film I had it down for a possible 7/8 but sadly the meaningless/emotion-only ending left it somewhat short of that mark.

The hints are there - the movie title, the date it takes place. This could be a well acted campfire story or would also make a good small theater show - but it also makes an enjoyable movie.

Like a good campfire story - you are left wondering, and a little frightened by it.

It's not going to make you scream or jump out of your seat or even cry - it will just keep you tense - just like the parents.

Sure there's a few plot holes but they aren't gaping and dont spoil the fundamental plot. I think there is also room for a sequel with the parents desperate to answer the same questions we still have and a basic premise created within this story.