‘Drive Back’ Review: Strong Horror Energy With A Shaky Story
I just finished with Cody Ashford’s new horror film Drive Back and my feelings are truly mixed. There are portions of the picture that work rather well and others that fall a little flat. I kept waiting for a clear message to come into view. The flick seems to be setting up some sort of commentary that never materializes. With that said, Drive Back is mostly effective in its execution of horror tropes. So, you could certainly do much worse.
The film follows newly engaged couple Reid (Zack Gold) and Olivia (Whit Kunschik) as they attempt to navigate back home after their engagement party in the backwoods of rural California. At the suggestion of a very eccentric convenience store clerk, they take a shortcut favored by locals. From that moment on, nothing is the same. They can’t seem to find their way and both begin to forget the trials and tribulations they’ve faced on their journey to date. Matters become even more unnerving when a masked stranger begins to give chase.
Drive Back spends ample time introducing details about a past adulterous affair that had life-changing consequences for both Olivia and Reid. In the present timeline, they’re expecting their first child. My expectation was that the affair and possibly the unborn baby were there to facilitate the delivery of some form or fashion of commentary. But that never comes to fruition. Instead, there’s just an obscene amount of time spent referencing the ramifications of said infidelity. The unborn child eventually plays a role in the narrative. But only as a callback during the denouement. There’s no greater purpose beyond that.
That’s just fine. I am the last person to suggest a film needs subtext to be considered effective. If a movie entertains, it has served its most important function in my estimation. However, some of these themes are so prominent throughout that they become distracting. I kept racking my brain, certain I must be missing something. Maybe the film is intended as a parable about the fears new parents face. Perhaps the messy situation the leads wind up in on their drive home is a metaphor for the irreparable damage caused by Olivia stepping out on Reid.
I kept waiting for the message to congeal. But the film is absent of any identifiable greater meaning. That eventually becomes a problem because the recurring references to these thematic elements seem to suggest they are an integral part of the film’s core message.
Every aspect of a feature should serve a purpose. Extraneous elements are like extra pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Useless and confusing. I wish screenwriter Jon Sarro had connected the dots more or completely removed the underdeveloped elements from the script.
On that same note, the film starts with a flashback of Reid hunting with his father. Reid mentions that trip several times during his and Olivia’s harrowing journey through the California backwoods. But it never comes back around to serve a greater narrative function. The opening cuts away with Reid holding a knife in his hand, about to sink it into a wounded animal. I thought that might be setting up a twist down the line. Maybe something really sadistic was about to happen and the conclusion would fill in the blanks. But it wasn’t and it doesn’t.
The introduction of the masked stranger also seems like it might be poised to tell us something about the characters at the core of the story. Like, maybe it is meant as a comment on the duality of human nature. But it isn’t. Moreover, that piece doesn’t do a whole lot to further the horror inherent to their predicament. The dizzying journey through the woods is enough on its own. There was no real cause for a knife-wielding maniac.
If everything within the narrative felt organic and served a logical purpose, this could have been a very effective film. As it stands, the proceedings are a little disjointed and awkward. However, the storyline is entertaining enough and the horror elements are actually pretty strong.
Speaking of the horror elements, the flick delivers multiple jump scares that got my blood pumping. The editing effectively yields a few chilling reveals. The paranoid narrative kept me on the edge of my seat for much of the second and third acts. Taken purely as a horror picture, Drive Back is effective enough to watch at least once. I genuinely enjoyed pieces of it. And you might too.
If you’re curious to check the flick out for yourself, you can scope it on VOD now.
-
‘Drive Back'
Summary
‘Drive Back’ is effective enough to warrant a watch. But keep your expectations in check.
Categorized:Reviews
