Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Route 666 (2001)

Came home sick from work today because I was - well, sick. More precisely, my face was a geyser of phlegm.

After a hot bath and some soup I decided the next remedy should be an unfamiliar horror movie. I got Route 666 from Netflix and it has been sitting next to the DVD player for some time now. I'm not sure why... perhaps because I suspect the film will be a great disappointment and I will curse at the time lost and then curse at the time lost cursing at the time lost. Or maybe I'm lazy.


But now that I'm home sick, no time will be lost and I can be lazy. Also, if it is an excellent movie then I am sure it will alleviate some of the pain In My Face. Win win.

This film stars Lou Diamond Phillips and Lori Petty as federal agents hunting someone down along a treacherousness highway. Apparently zombies and mobsters are involved too. Can you see why I hesitated watching this movie while in prime health?

Be back shortly after I grab our big fat cat and snuggle up on the couch to watch: Route 666!

Update:

Okay, well - let me first say that I have not yet taken any cold medicine. I prefer not to take that stuff, but after watching this film I think I might at least take some aspirin - for the headache.

This film wasn't terrible. In fact, I rather liked the directing and cinematography - except for the really strange jerky camera movements meant to enhance trauma and fear but only left me feeling like I was repeatably falling on a trampoline in slow motion.

The writing was terrible, however. I got the impression that it was written by a bunch of 14 year olds who just spent a marathon weekend watching Die Hard films, playing video games, and eating sugar straight out of the bag. There was a rather heavy absentee father influence throughout the film, which made me sad and not want to picture a gaggle of fatherless 14 year olds with sugar and time on their hands. Still, that is what the writing felt like to me. So really, the film made me kinda sad.

First, there were no zombies. Not the traditional idea of zombies, anyway. They were more like angry ghosts. The mobsters were only in the first 15 minutes of the film, and the federal agents were not tracking someone down along the spooky highway, they were transporting someone down the highway. Although the advertising was off, it really doesn't change the story or the horrible, laughable writing.

THAT SAID: the idea for the story was pretty good, nice and original. I think the director did a good job grabbing scary shots of deserted places (abandoned drive-ins, and cemeteries) and capturing moments to keep you interested (opening scene was clever, until the shooting started anyway...).

Perhaps that story was originally written for a class project, and it was loved and cherished until someone was able to make a movie out of it. If so, I really wish it was edited before the filming began because I think the story had some neat potential. Still, it is not horrible and I would actually recommend it for teenagers with nothing to do on a Saturday night. Adults can enjoy it too, but I recommend waiting for a sick day.

Trailer:

Recommend pairing: Cold Medicine


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