Dead End

How is this movie rated so high? I must have said "man this is stupid" every 10 minutes. It wasn't scary, it was poorly acted, and it was just bad. I was waiting for the end after about 1/2 hour. I was at a friend's house with some buddies, so I couldn't turn it off unfortunately. However by the end, everyone agreed we should have turned it off. I strongly suggest everybody pass on this one, unless you want to watch a bad movie. The ending was actually predictable, and I don't get how it surprised anybody. Man this movie was just AWFUL! If you have seen this movie and really liked it, can you explain to me why and if you have an IQ above 20.

I am not sure if the people who have reviewed this movie actually saw it or were somehow affiliated with this piece of crap...but this was 85 minutes of my life that I will never get back. The fact that the end credits included a "Thank you for staying until the end" comment should have been the tip off (had it been mentioned at the beginning). I love horror films...cheesy, campy, gory, down-right creepy...you name it...I am there. But this was atrocious. The script was horrible, unrealistic character development and dialogue. Yes, I realize this was supposed to be a "horror" film and by that distinction should not be Academy Award winning caliber...but there was nothing good about this movie. I just can't believe that it has been reviewed so highly. Cult or horror movies have redeeming factors to it...this did not at all. Do not bother with this crap...for the love of all that is pure, go watch something, anything else!

This movie was so awesome! I have rented so many B- movies in my life, I can't even count them. I thought this was going to be another lame, stupid movie that looked like it was filmed in my backyard but it wasn't. It was totally scary. This movie kept me thinking and thinking way after the credits were done rolling. I have rented it twice and still love it. The acting is awesome, the plot rocks, the twists are cool, and the filing (thank god!) is good! If you ever have the chance, you have to see this movie! I promise that you will get a scary, suspenseful movie! There is one nasty scene which should have never been put into this movie in the first place because it has nothing to do with the plot, but ignore it and keep on watching! My Take out of 5 *'s *****

I am truly sorry, but i am sick of reading reviews that praise a dreadful film. The film itself was awful, another film which is only funny at times because of it's general idiocy, you could give a monkey a camera and get a better film than this. A poor excuse for a "horror" film, it would barely pass as a mock-horror comedy. Normally i would say this film has potential, but if i did i would be making a false statement. The entire plot, a word which i use loosely in this case, is destroyed by the final scene which might as well, and very nearly does, say to the audience "and it was all a dream", this completely removes the point of every previous scene and makes everything you knew about their situation completely pointless. In itself you can just sit their and laugh at how they get killed but besides that the film is a waste of your time and money. We've seen it all before, it's nothing new or exciting or new, just the same old, same old. We want something new, something which isn't as predictable as this.

Without giving any spoilers, I must say that the "big twist" in this film has been done many, many times before, but rarely has it been done so ineptly or so obviously. Literally five minutes into the film I had guessed what was going on. The next seventy-five minutes felt like eternity. While waiting for the painfully obvious final revelation I was treated to terrible acting from what should have been a good cast - Ray Wise is always a treat to watch, but the stilted and unbelievable dialogue forced between his lips just made me cringe. I was treated to every rebellious teenager cliché available - teasing the sister, baiting her boyfriend, masturbating to *, swearing at parents, and getting stoned (and I don't recall ever seeing someone act stoned so poorly). Naturally, he gets all concerned and sad and reveals he really does care about his sister when things get rough. I was treated to an embarrassingly inept portrayal of post-traumatic stress induced madness from a veteran actress who should have known better. To all those people who seem to think this is some kind of minor masterpiece, get out and see some of the genuinely good examples in the subgenre, such as the original Carnival of Souls. Pointless hackery like this is just a waste of everyone's time.

Before I ordered the movie 'Dead End" I went thru a number of viewer comments. Most of them, if not all, were positive so I decided to hit the order button. Fifteen minutes into the movie I realized this could be a mistake. Nothing made sense. First of all the viewer is forced to root against the family for their obnoxious behavior. This is usually par for the course in any slash 'em up movie but more so in this one. I said "kill 'em all and end the movie already." The way in which characters disappeared and wound up dead seconds later was hard to believe. No psychological thriller here. If you are dealing with faceless killers try to make it a little more believable. I would pass on this dead end.

First off is this a horror film or dark comedy? I don't know. Its neither scary nor funny, although it seems to be trying to be both. Second not a whole hell of a lot happens. They drive and talk; stand and talk; drive and talk; talk to a woman with her baby; talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. None of it is very good, and its only made worse by bad direction. Its awful. Nothing happens. Its a giant cheap mess, with the same driving footage used over and over and over again. Its people talking saying really dumb stuff but not doing anything. Well, in actually stuff does happen, but nothing interesting and nothing that makes sense even with the sting in the tail ending.(SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER- Worse the sting doesn't take into account that one of the characters could not have seen a good chunk of the events. END SPOILER) While I commend the lack of big splash effects, the direction and writing make their lack of use seem more like ineptness and penny pinching. 1 out of 10. Avoid this unless you really need to see every horror movie ever made.

If you are a horror fan, then maybe you have a predisposition to like this film merely because it is not garbage. Maybe you spend hours watching b-movie drivel and this was appealing because it had pseudo-competent actors and decent production value for what it attempted. But I was disappointed because of story. The end does not justify the means in this case. Yes, there was a twist, but a trick ending does not justify a lack of story logic to get there. This is a clear case of the script being written to the movie's end rather than building it on real human actions or the development of the characters. In order for the end to be believable, you have to get the viewer there first. It was lost for me once they got lost and kept driving down this endless road. No one reacted realistically to any of the deaths. They keep driving down the same road despite it's 'horrors'. No one would do that. The mother would throw away the cell phone because she was scared. That was a 'contrivance'. A shotgun they bought as a present for an Uncle just happens to be in the back seat? Contrivance. They never once try to turn around and go back to the highway. Unrealistic. The characters were all clichés. There was enough substance and humor to keep me watching through the end but largely because Ray Wise gave life to an unrealistic character. No one loses a family member in a dark side road and then drives on hoping that something better will happen. I'm all for suspension of disbelief but...come on. Having said all of that, I respect what the directors tried to achieve. I just wish they had let another writer polish the script before they started. Story is everything. It goes beyond new twists in the genre or guessing the ending. Cinema is a journey not a destination. It takes you out of your everyday life by getting caught up in another reality for a couple of hours. That reality has to be REAL or it doesn't work. It can forgive the lack of FX and the missed continuity or even the wilding beating pulse in the neck of the mother once she was 'dead'. That happens in even big budget films. That's expected in low budget. But the story has to be solid. You can't just buy it with a gimmick alone.

The summary is a quote from the end of the movie that perfectly reflects how my wife and I felt watching it. Oh my gosh...because you lunkheads had rated this movie with an average between 6 and 7 stars, my wife will NEVER, EVER listen to IMDb again when it comes to picking horror movies. Yup, your credibility is totally shot. For those of you who liked it and rated it so high, you are damned. For those of you who have not yet seen it, save your souls, money and time. I just can't believe there are people out there that watch this crap and like it. The whole purpose behind IMDb should be to warn folks to stay away from steaming piles like this! Who could ever equate this crap with the genius of the Twilight Zone? Twilight Zone episodes were like fables that usually had memorable, thought provoking, shocking, and even life changing lessons. The only lesson that can be had from this movie is to stay as far away from it as possible. The directors Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa are on my list and ANY movie they touch, I will NEVER, EVER see. Bottom line...one of the worst pieces of crap I have ever seen. It was so bad, I don't know what can be done to get that rotten taste out of my mouth.

"Dead End" is actually one of the best horror movies of 2003.It's Christmas Eve and Frank Harrington and his family are heading to the in-laws,when for the first time in twenty years he decides to take a short-cut through the woods.What a mistake this turns out to be,as he drives onto a seemingly endless road,and into a creepy land where nothing is what it appears to be."Dead End" is a truly intelligent and downright horrifying horror film.It offers some incredibly unnerving moments,unfortunately there is too much humour for my liking.There is also a fair amount of blood and gore,so I was satisfied.Anyway,if you are a fan of creepy low-budget horror films give this little gem a look.8 out of 10.