Roadkill

source: Roadkill

A bunch of young folks embarking on a road trip through Ireland in an RV find themselves targeted for death by a lethal flying monster after they run afoul of a group of gypsies who put a curse on them. Director Johannes Roberts keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a brisk pace, takes time to develop the characters, makes nicely atmospheric use of the misty sylvan Irish countryside locations, generates a good deal of tension, and stages the attack scenes with flair. The competent acting by the capable cast helps a lot: Kacey Clarke as the sweet Kate, Roison Murphy as the sultry Anita, Eliza Bennett as the perky Hailey, Colin Maher as the amiable Joel, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as the easygoing Tommy, Oliver James as the smitten Ryan, and Diarmuid Noyes as rowdy smartaleck Chuck. Moreover, Ned Dennehy deliciously hams it up as antagonistic local creep Luca while Stephen Rea isn't given much to do as jerky cop Seamus. The monster looks gritty gnarly and the CGI effects aren't half bad. Kudos are also in order for Peter Robertson's sharp cinematography and Ray Harman's spirited shivery score. A fun little B-flick.

I know this is about 8 years late but I thought I'd write a review anyway. Not such a bad film all things considered but it unfortunately lost its way about two thirds of the way through and just got sillier and sillier. The story line was okay, as was the acting (although Steven Rea, which is one of the reasons I watched it, was in it for all of about 5 mins), but overall it was, as I said, just a bit too silly to be a good movie. Still, 6 out of 10 for effort.

At first I was meh but overall I enjoyed it I'm not going to say it's the best but defently not the worst.

A group of friends touring Ireland for a re-acquaintance trip run afoul of a gang of gypsies during an accident and are soon stalked by a gigantic predatory bird as part of their revenge on the friends, forcing them to battle the vicious creature to get away alive. This one isn't so bad and comes off a lot better than it should. One of the better elements in here is the rather impressive attack scenes which are frequent enough in here to really work quite well. The first attack on the RV and the ambush on the stranded truck in the forest, being the first ones in the film anyway, are quite fun showing off the creature's antics quite well as the surprise attacks give the bird a behavior that's quite chilling. Likewise, the scenes in the woods are just as much fun as they manage to not only feature the stalking by the townspeople through the fog-shrouded landscape but also the incredibly dramatic secondary scene in the creature's nest where it plays up much more tense situations alongside plenty of thrilling action with the location-setting having as much to do for the scene as well. These do manage to help it overcome enough of its flaws to make for a pretty entertaining effort although its flaws are still apparent. The biggest one here is undoubtedly the lack of anything here about the actual bird in any shape or form. All we're given is a line or two about a mythological bird of prey that it supposedly resembles but that's barely touched upon by the gang, then it turns around and has the locals not only ignore that telling but also give a totally different explanation and name for the creature. This makes it hard to follow what's going on while also questioning why the mythological viewpoint was even brought up to begin with. Following that viewpoint, this also manages to greatly differentiate the birds' impact on the community as the creature's initial attacks are suggested to be a curse on the group yet the search to acquire the protective medallion implies it's always been around so their actions are so scatter shot and confusing it really does lower this. Along with the weak CGI that runs rampant here, these do lower this though it does have those good parts to hold this up. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Clichés? You bet. A few logic holes. Yup. Worth a look? Indeed. First, anyone who claims this is a typical SyFy channel film should be avoided in public and in private. This is that 1 in 50 SyFy film that was actually well made. Second, anyone who claims the acting is amateurish must stop writing reviews. Period. The acting is top notch, especially considering that every one of these Americans is NOT American and yet I didn't hear an accent dropped once. Also, anyone who didn't notice the terrific music score should be made to take a music appreciation class. Twice. Oh, and you've got three gorgeous women to enjoy. You've got a real nasty ROC. You get to hate some truly nasty hicks (reminds me of the setting and characters in Shuttered Room). I enjoyed it. I think most people will, if they can find it.

ROADKILL, a SyFy Channel-style giant monster flick complete with CGI beastie and some horrid acting, offers something a little different for B-movie fans. This one's set in Ireland for a change, and sees a group of American vacationers going on a road trip in their RV (or camper van for Brit viewers) and finding themselves at the mercy of an ancient curse. It's all preposterous nonsense of course, and the film's cause is little helped by the cheesy, sloppy execution. The writing is equally poor: there's a fairly large cast and yet none of the main characters is in any way memorable or indeed stands out from the pack. When the token black guy shows up you know that the calibre of the writing is sub-par and totally clichéd to say the least. And yet, and yet...ROADKILL has a certain atmosphere that I found highly charged and plenty of fun. The effects are cheesy, yes, but the giant bird creature is good fun, although more than a little out of place (I'd expect it in an Arabian Nights adventure, not a rural Irish horror). There's plenty of action, and Irish actor Ned Dennehy chews up the scenery with relish as the primary antagonist. Watch out for Stephen Rea's shame-faced cameo as a copper. ROADKILL may not be high art but it does offer plentiful amusement and, for me, that's what counts in a B-movie.

I can understand why many may not give this movie a chance or like it because it is a syfy or may seem cheesy. But I'm not into syfy that much either but I personally loved it. It had a great mixture of thriller, curses, action, romance, and it had a unique ending. If you think about it many people are looking for a movie that isn't as predictable and this movie does it. It doesn't have a happy ending and it gives a sense of there is no way out. So it puts you on the edge of your seat wondering who will be the survivor at the end. I think the actors and actresses did a great job also making you really believe in the emotions.

Any movie that overuses the word "dude" like "Roadkill" really must suck, and this one certainly does. I mean "dude" there is zero character development". The Winnebago vacationing "twenty somethings" are all annoying "dude". The story of Gypsies placing a curse that calls to life a giant turkey necked, scraggly bird is laughable "dude"' This is what happens "dude", when the Sci-Fi Channel , runs out of ideas, they like improvise "dude", with a story that makes no sense. This move has about as much entertainment value as watching a burning orphanage "dude". So like "dude", you have been warned, avoid this like you would a rabid dog, unless of course you like dumb movies "dude". - MERK

Roadkill is a telefilm directed by Johannes Roberts and written by Rick Suvalle. It stars Oliver James, Eliza Bennett, Kacey Barnfield, Ned Dennehy, Diarmuid Noyes, Roisin Murphy and Eve Macklin. Music is by Ray Harman and cinematography by Peter Robertson. A bunch of young friends are travelling around Ireland in an RV when they stop off at a bric-a-brac store. Getting into a dispute with one of the crotchety shop inhabitants, the youths are forced to flee and knock down an old Romany lady with their RV. Whilst trying to aid the old woman, she gasps her last breaths whilst issuing a curse on all involved in her killing Once in a while you stumble upon a telefilm that really entertains and holds you for its duration, sadly Roadkill is not one of them. Low expectations always help with these sort of productions, they are after all knocked up by aspiring directors who are just happy to have a film shown on the SyFy channel, but thee's not a lot to write home about here. In its favour is the appearance of Ned Dennehy, who is always good value for a bit of scuzzy characterisation, and Stephen Rea even pops in for a cameo, but both actors are clearly slumming it and working for food. The group of handsome youngsters are the usual roll call of nice legs, nice cleavage, nice pecs, supplemented by the dim one, the annoying one who says dude a lot and etc, each to be picked off by a rather crummy CGI mythical beast from Sinbad lore. Will any of them survive? Just what is the secret of the medallion that Dennehy's dirty army are so keen to get back? The answers to these questions will of course provide the backbone of the story, leading to an unintentionally funny moment when "lead girl" turns into Chuck Norris. The acting isn't awful and it's nice to have some genuine Irish countryside as the backdrop to a story set in Ireland, but it all comes off as pointless TV schedule filler. And unadventurous filler at that. 3/10