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When two psychologically damaged people meet up on the road, nothing but trouble can result, and that’s exactly what happens in writer/director Warren Fast’s Roadkill. Combining elements of ’70s road films with more recent entries like The Hitcher and Joyride, it makes for a fun, fast-paced 90 minutes.
Caitlin Carmichael is “the driver,” motoring in a muscle car down a rural stretch of highway. She picks up a drifter (Ryan Knudson) and they decide to travel together. They recognize each other as lost souls, and the driver reasons, “Maybe we can help each other.”
Meanwhile, the town sheriff (Fast) and his deputy (Trenton Hudson) are in search of the person or persons responsible for a series of murders that have occurred in the area. A sequence of coincidences put the driver and the hitchhiker in the hot seat, and they become the sheriff’s prime suspects.
Carmichael is fascinating to watch as the driver. We always wonder what’s going on in that head. Likewise, Knudson’s drifter is a man of few words whose motives are mysterious. Over the course of the film, we get rather disturbing fragments of their backstories, which hint at their troubles. Horror icon Danielle Harris (Halloween IV: the Return of Michael Myers) shows up in a bit as a waitress in a roadside diner. And yes, she does scream.
From a production standpoint, Roadkill looks great. Joshua Lanier’s cinematography and editing are appropriately fast-moving and supercharged by Daniel Davies’ score.
All in all, Fast demonstrates a real affinity for the genre. And Carmichael could become an action go-to girl if she wants to. Roadkill comes to selected theaters and will be available on digital January 5.
Feature photo: Caitlin Carmichael (Uncork’d Entertainment).
