What a smart and refreshing take on the horror/thriller genre!

Director Alex Ullom (with his first feature film) gave me a From (TV Series) vibe as we start out with a story of four young adults on their way home from college, driving in a car and finding that the road becomes endless.

We get a chance to get to know the four a little, Tyler (Mitchell Cole) feels like he is full of anger and frustration, James (Phinehas Yoon) is a nerdy and ambitious tycoon in the making, Day (Akira Jackson) admits to moments of severe depression and Fish (Noah Toth) seems like a goofy kid. They are on a road to somewhere, following their sat nav when they think they have missed a turn. The horror elements appear when they turn their car around and meet an obstacle that forces them to turn around again and keep driving. And driving.

I won’t tell you anything more as it is good to go with the flow with this one. Suffice to say there is a definite and eventually obvious metaphor play here. The more expected horror elements turn into a really interesting exploration of existential horror for Gen Z.

There are clever references to TikTok trends, Pomodoro thinking, memes and the pointless distractions we use to fill up our lives. No matter what generation you are from, you can’t help putting yourself in the situation of these four people and wondering what choices you would make.

I liked the ending and I thought it was fitting with the meaning behind the story. It is quite bleak if you think about it too much but there is something about the sunny forest road trip vibe that adds a sense of optimism that I think is irrepressible in humans. We never really believe that we are going to die. At least not until we are older.

I’ve read some criticism about the fact that the film goes around in circles a little bit too much, but thinking about it afterwards, I think that might be the point. We as the audience are forced to experience the repetition and endlessness and our place within that. I think to give us an out by changing the dramatic tone or structure would have undermined the message.