Pay close attention to the sound bytes behind the curtain my friends . . .
Dead End was one heck of a freakishly strange and wild ride. At times throughout the movie I thought I had it all figured out - and I did, to a point.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film I found today while perusing my cable guide. Dead End was a title that intrigued me; the description interested me - something about a family who encounters a strange woman in the woods on Christmas Eve; and most importantly Ray Wise was in it and I loved him in Twin Peaks. So there we had it folks, the magic horror movie trifecta.
Basically a family of four - the father Frank Harrington (Ray Wise), the mother Laura Harrington (Lin Shaye), the son Richard Harrington (Mick Cain) and the daughter Marion Harrington (Alexandra Holden) - plus the daughter's boyfriend, Brad Miller (Billy Asher) set out for a Christmas Eve dinner at a relative's house. Of course they were running late as every family does during the holidays and everyone seemed chock full of piss and vinegar - especially Richard who was pretty much a little wiener and threw out the gay jokes left and right about his sister's boyfriend.
Complete with presents and a chocolate pumpkin pie (what a combo!) that according to Richard "smelt like ass", they make their way across the heartland. Unfortunately for the family, Dad decides to take a little shortcut through the back roads and ends up falling asleep at the wheel. After narrowly avoiding an accident and ruining aforementioned pie, the group comes upon a strange lady dressed in white who seems to need their help. Sis gets out of the car and agrees to walk back to the rangers station they found a little while back so that the woman (apparently in shock) could ride back with the family. This is when it all turns weird . . .
I couldn't recommend
Dead End more. With what was almost certainly a low budget they managed to not only interest me in the film, but at the end of they day they really did shock me with the ending. Not totally mind you, but enough to make me say hmmmm . . .
And the scene with Laura Harrington and "I made the cheerleading squad! Best day ever!" is one that I am sure will keep you chuckling right until the moment that you realize you were totally grossed out by what just happened there. You've gotta see it to understand what I mean and it is unarguably worth seeing!
Dead End Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
Jean-Baptiste Andrea
Fabrice Canepa
Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Baptiste Andrea
Fabrice Canepa
Cast (in credits order)
Ray Wise .... Frank Harrington
Lin Shaye .... Laura Harrington
Mick Cain .... Richard Harrington
Alexandra Holden .... Marion Harrington
Billy Asher .... Brad Miller
Amber Smith .... Lady in White
Karen S. Gregan .... Doctor
Sharon Madden .... Nurse
Steve Valentine .... Men In Black
Jimmie F. Skaggs .... 1st Worker (as Jimmy Skaggs)
Clement Blake .... 2nd Worker
More Dead End Movie Reviews
Dead End Movie Review from CountercultureMovie Review of Dead End at The Zone
