We are under V for the character Vijah in this film.
Director: Chris von Hoffmann
Writer: Chris von Hoffman, Aria Emory (Screenplay)
Starring: Aria Emory, Drew Harwood, Monique Rosario, James McCabe, Anthony Ficco, Rebecca Fraiser, Javier Gabriel
Plot: A pair of outlaw brothers seek temporary refuge in a desolate town inhabited by a small family of psychotic cannibalistic lunatics.
Tagline – Live in fear.
Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Aggressively Violent
Story: Dead End starts as a pair of brothers Miles (Emory) and Dominic (Harewood) and outlaws racing across the desert landscape in a world where a car is seen as a luxury item for the remaining survivors.
With Miles injured, the pair look for medical help which sees them stumble into a desolate town, where Vijah (Rosario) helps and warns them about the dangers in the town, with the leader Doyle (McCabe) having a much darker side than the brothers could imagine.
Thoughts on Dead End
Characters – Miles is the younger of the two brothers, he gets wounded in the opening scene, with his brother always bailing him out of trouble, he will need to learn to step up and fight back when needed or face becoming a victim to this world. Dominic is the older of the two, he will always fight to save his little brother, being a constant threat to anybody who messy with them, until this new town, where he meets his match after failing to following simple instructions. Vijah is the young woman that offers the brothers shelter and warns them about the danger in the town, she doesn’t want to be part of what happened there but is trapped there with no escape. Doyle runs the town, he is twisted man that uses his power to control a group of cannibals, who are always waiting for their latest victims.
Performances – When it comes to the performances, Drew Harwood is strongest in the film, he shows the strong figure he is meant to be and how stubborn his character is meant to be, while Aria Emory is meant to be playing the more innocent, he does work well in this role for the film. Monique Rosario is strong too, without getting too much outside the box to do, while James McCabe does bring the sinister nature of his character to life.
Story – The story follows two brothers in a post-apocalyptic world where cars are worth killing for as are supplies of any sort, they find themselves in a desolate town where they must try and survive the locals who are cannibalistic lunatics. This story does try to borrow from films like Mad Max and Book of Eli, only it doesn’t offer enough when it comes to the bigger questions of just what is going on, what has put the world in this situation or is this just a random desert town, is it even a post-apocalyptic world or not, these are big questions that are not answered here. When it comes to the actual showdown, things just seem to focus on trying to be edgy rather than telling a proper story, with parts of this feeling like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while not having the guts to push things to the next level. It is by the book to say the least at plays on trying to be more violent that it needs to be.
Crime/Horror – The crime and horror elements of the film mix together, because we see what are meant to be outlaws, (Still not sure if they were) being targeted by cannibals who don’t seem to have a stop button when it comes to their violence.
Settings – The film does create the open and abandoned feel the world is meant to be in, which does show how hopeless some of the characters are left to feel during the film.
Special Effects – When it comes to the effects, we are mostly focused on the wounds the characters suffer, which does look as brutal as it is meant to, though it could have been a lot worse for the audience.
Scene of the Movie – Dominic meets his match.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Borrows from too many movies, without making anything original when it comes to the concepts borrowed.
Final Thoughts – This is a violent aggressive movie that wants to show more chaos than giving us an actual story, we are left to just wait for the next violent moment to happen, while borrowing scenes from bigger and better films.
Overall: Dead End, More like Dead on Arrival.
