Posted January 2nd, 2010 by Jamie Lisk

• Wide Release
• Director: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
• Written by: Fabrice Canepa, Jean-Baptiste Andrea
• Running Time: 85 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: R - Restricted
• Cast: Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Alexandra Holden, Billy Asher, Amber Smith, Karen S. Gregan, Sharon Madden, Steve Valentine, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Clement Blake

 

After our most recent filmsuck.net review of "Fever Night aka Satanic Band of Outsiders" I felt inspired to post this review, considering how much the two films reminded me of each other. Anyways, here we go: The Harringtons are just your average all-American nuclear family, burdened with all the usual problems confronting most family units today; the dad, Frank, drinks too much; the mom, Marion, is neurotic and harbours a long lost love for another man; the son, Richard, is cocky and a chronic masturbator/drug user; and the daughter, Laura, is pregnant and too ashamed to tell her parents. She also isn’t interested in making a life with the zen-like father of her child, Brad. In the opening minutes of "Dead End", we are privy to their squabbling as they, and the tag-along boyfriend, struggle to make the best of a roundabout Christmas Eve trip to their grandmother’s house.

 

 

In attempt to ward off sleep, Frank, played by Ray Wise, has opted for the deserted back roads instead of the interstate. It's a mistake that will cost him dearly, as we soon learn. Following a near fatal car accident, Frank spots a strange lady in white cradling her dead baby in her arms, wandering aimlessly down the road. It becomes quite apparent that this Christmas Eve trip was not about to turn out as the Harrington's had intended.

 

When daughter Laura opts to walk, the family, acting as good Samaritans, attempt to take the lady in white to the deserted ranger station up the road for help. That's when things go from strange to downright terrifying, as Laura spots a large black hearse which seems to glide past her on the blackened county road. In the backseat, her horrified boyfriend, clings to the back window crying out for help. Following a quick pursuit, the family stumbles upon Brad’s mutilated corpse by the side of the road. "What could have done this?" they ask, desperately trying to understand just what exactly is happening.

 

They set off down the road again looking for help and to put as many miles between them and the station as possible. Further down the road, they are confronted with even more oddities that scare them to their very core. Cell phones that pick up the sound of a woman screaming, radio stations that can only transfer signals of children crying, and a deserted winding pitch black road that never seems to end -- or go anywhere. Their only sense of hope exists in a taunting road sign, and the town it signifies ‘Marcott’, that seems to suggest the promise of salvation just around the next corner. Sadly, 'Marcott' never seems to come.

 

With every stop, more tragedy and heart break seems to befall them, culminating in a bone chilling sequence where the mother quietly asks, "Who are all these people in the woods?" Her husband and daughter can't see anything, prompting them to wonder, "Has she completely lost her mind?" or, "Is she actually seeing something?" Both answers are chilling in their overall meaning. Later, when Marion points out an old friend who is waving to her off in the woods, Frank grumbles about said friend, “She’s been dead for twenty years.” This helps to set up the final act, which, at this point, should be apparent to anybody with any kind of analytical skills. Only heartache with follow this trip, that's obvious. As all hope begins to flicker - promises, revelations, and, ultimately, love and forgiveness, comes to part as each family member says goodbye to those they love in this world, before heading off on their own personal journey to the other side.

 

What is really smart about the film is the way it treats the car as the solitary safe haven in the sea of madness as everything, including the sky the road and the forest work to tear apart their own sense of reality. Just off the edge of the woods, the lady in white, and her deceased child, appears and disappears, as does the ominous black car which seems to haunt the road at all the wrong times. What does it all mean? Why are all these things happening? As things begin to unravel for the survivors, the optimism which had existed early on, ever so gradually begins to dissipate. It's like piecing together a puzzle where in the end, you almost certainly know that you’re not going to want to see what you’ve put together. Every clue essentially means danger, and every remaining piece hints at your impending doom.

 

French expatriates, Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa, tear onto the scene with this impressive debut movie. Although predictable, "Dead End" is smart and thoughtful, as it takes a simple story concept and works inwardly from the idea, rather than outwardly, developing the movie around the central characters' reactivety to distinct conditions. Because of this, the film hinges almost entirely on the performances of the actors who never fail to deliver. Working inside the claustrophobic confines of a car, these actors never waiver.

 

Ray Wise ("Jeepers Creepers 2", "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me"), as the stubborn but loving father, is absolutely amazing here. He chews up the scenery playing a man struggling to maintain his futile sense of power, while desperately attempting to save the people that he cherishes so dearly. I'm hoping to see more his work in the future. Lin Shaye ("Cellular", "Stuck On You"), as Laura, is decidedly quirky here playing a woman who hopes to assert some form of dignity, regardless of how utterly indignant the situation contines to get. The son, Richard, is played by Mark Cain ("The Contract", "White Wolves III: Cry of the White Wolf"), and definitely has some good moments, especially with Holden, but is weighted down in a cliched teenager characterization. Alexandra Holden ("The Hot Chick", "Drop Dead Gorgeous"), as Marion, the psychologist-to-be, who tries to keep up a thin veneer of control even when confronted with a situation beyond her scope of sensibilities -- is fantastic. Holden is easily Wise’s equal here and carries her meaty role with the ease of an actress twice her age. This is a terrific and sharp performance from an actress mostly known for her work in light-weight comedies.

 

Lastly, one will note that film seems bathed in darkness, celebrating the black amd shadows. Clearly cinematographer Alexander Buono ("Fool Proof"), sought to create a sort of gloomy, hopeless atmosphere through the use of minimal lighting, and he achieves tenfold. The music from Greg De Belles ("G-Men From Hell") is also in keeping with the overall feel of the movie. Also, I noted a cue from György Ligeti's 'Requiem' on a couple of occasions. A great experimental film that I urge people to check out. You might figure out how it ends, but as the Harringtons soon discovered, it isn't the end that matters, but the trip itself.