MikeEverleth Blog

Under discussion:

Straw Dogs  (1971)

No Through Road  (2008)

No Through Road is an extremely tense little thriller-slash-horror movie that's at turns scary, suspenseful and pretty gory and disturbing. It's kind of like a low-budget Australian update of Straw Dogs.

However, this time the nerdy guy who needs to find his inner barbarian is a mousy, reclusive amateur photographer who needs to protect a strange girl hiding in his bedroom closet. She claims she's just been raped, but the three thugs outside who want to have a "chat" with her claim she's involved in a drug plot. Of course, the outside creeps eventually find their way inside for a cat-and-mouse game that involves several sharp objects.

The film has a nice script that slowly builds the tension and deftly explains away all of the nagging implausibilities, such as giving the hero a good, solid reason to not automatically call the cops when he finds the girl. But the film really shines with giving us terrific characters to care about, especially in developing the villains who are grounded and realistic and not just cartoonish ruffians.

Read my full review at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.

Under discussion:

Wonderland  (1997)

I guess this is a hard-to-see film since it was never released on DVD, which is a real shame because it's a fun, quirky little documentary.

Director John O'Hagan does a nice job spotlighting the eccentric characters living in America's first suburb, Levittown, NY, without poking fun at them. The residents proudly discuss their quirky hobbies and obsessions while O'Hagan mixes in nice archival footage of the suburb's ambitious beginnings. We also get to meet a few of Levittown's more famous former residents, like musician Eddie Money and Bill Griffith, the creator of Zippy the Pinhead.

It's a real shame more people can't get to see this as this is a very charming documentary.

Under discussion:

Circulation  (2008)

Ryan Harper's debut feature is a nice twist on the desert thriller genre. A young Mexican woman is helped by a crusty, but kind, stranger as she escapes from her abusive ex-husband. While it may look like she's still in the same desert community where she grew up, she eventually realizes she's trapped in a nighmarish mirror world.

Her journey is kind of like Dorothy's in The Wizard of Oz, except the Munchkins here are normal-sized and like to vomit bile on and eat people; and instead of a dancing scarecrow, she's accompanied by a cranky bald guy in a rundown truck.

Read my full review on Bad Lit.