Movie Review: Dead End (2003)

I always put these random movies in my queue after reading the description once and thinking, "Meh, this sounds interesting. I'll save it and watch it later." Then I keep skipping it over when I'm looking for a movie to watch because I'm so sure that it's not going to be as good as I hope. Well, today I finally decided to give Dead End a chance. And holy guacamole, it seriously wasn't that bad. I really liked it.

The plot maze: A family driving to grandmother's house for Christmas encounter a strange woman on an isolated road when dad decides to take a shortcut. But that's just the beginning of their problems as the road they are on seemingly goes on forever and a doomsday black car starts to mean death for all of them.

There are many things about this movie that make it similar to other movies you've probably already seen, but then there are a few things that really set it apart from those other movies at the same time. The actors are quite fantastic in their roles and there are episodes of dark humor that make parts of this movie more enjoyable than they probably should be.

The film is both character driven and plot driven, but while you're wrapping your head around the crazy plot, you're also enjoying the craziness of this family. First there's Frank, the father, who is not comfortable going to his wife's, Laura, mother's for Christmas and who gets stuck driving on this crappy road for most of the movie. The kids are Marion and Richard. Richard is a hard-rock-listening-to, pot-smoking teenager with a heart of gold. Marion is an aspiring psychiatrist or psychologist traveling with her possibly gay boyfriend, Brad. Brad's not really that popular with anybody so thank goodness he dies pretty quick.

Lin Shaye as Laura is perhaps the highlight of Dead End, for she is amazing in this piece. The timing of her humor, especially in the darkest moments, are hysterical to watch. Her shining moment is of course after the discovery of Richard's dead body. When Frank and Marion get back in the car, Laura is in the back seat, scarfing down a whole pie with her bare hands. She then makes a stick drawing for Marion of her boyfriend's dead body. Hi-larious.

As for the gore, there's really not much to talk about here at all. And for this movie, that works. Okay, I was a little disappointed at not being able to see the supposedly mutilated body of Brad, the first victim, but the reaction from the actors and Brad's bloody ear pretty much tell you all you need to know. There's also an interesting moment where the Lady in White bites off Richard's lip but nothing else aside from that.

Oh wait, no, I forgot! Let's just say that rubbing your own brain through a bullet wound is NOT COOL. And I leave it at that.

Can you even see this picture? It's really dark, yeah?

The setting is rightfully spooky, and the endless darkness of the night along with the seemingly endlessness of this road they are make for a great atmosphere. Strangely the film feels a little claustrophobic at times too. The filmmakers include several shots throughout the film of the single, straight, lonely road completely surrounded by dense forest and other than that, most of the movie takes place either inside the car or very close to it on the outside. As many times as they stop and as far as they go down the road, still nothing changes. The scenery is monotonous and closes our characters in on themselves.

Maybe viewers can catch on to the "twist" ending before it is revealed but there are a few theories to think about. A lot of the synopses I read about the movie make it seem more about the patriarch of the family, Frank, but by the end, I'm thinking maybe the movie is about Marion. Spoilers abound here, as usual, so brace yourself. So we find out that the whole family actually died in the car when the father falls asleep at the wheel and almost hits another car - all except Marion. Turns out they actually DID hit the car and the rest of the movie is a dream or a vision or some other kind of supernatural shit. I haven't actually seen Carnival of Souls yet (I KNOW, I KNOW, it's in my queue and I'll get to it soon) but I know the story and I'm thinking there are definite references or inspirations from that here.

But the rub against that theory is that Marion is not dead at the end. It still must have been some kind of dream of hers, though, because once they notice the sign indicating they are heading for Marcott, that becomes the real driving force behind their actions. Marcott ends up being the name of the doctor treating Marion at the hospital. So if Marion can get through this crazy ride or dream, losing her family along the way, yes, then she will finally get out of this and end up at Marcott, where she will maybe be safe. Does that make sense? I don't know. It makes sense in my head.

Dead End is a fantastic reminder of how a simple story and well paced story with fun characters can make for a most enjoyable horror movie. See it!