Writing for The Horror Syndicate, I have had lots of time to ponder the idea of ‘what is scary’ to me. It isn’t the lumbering masses of the walking dead or some ghostly apparition. It isn’t supernatural killers like Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger or some freakish alien being. My fears seem to be grounded more in reality. One of these possible realities is the lingering idea of what life would be like after the end of the world as we know it. A world where we have to scrape to get by. Humanities numbers are dropping at a catastrophic rate. With food, fuel and water supplies scarce, only the strongest will survive. The flick we are briefly looking at today involves this scary possibility.
Popcorn. CHECK. Beer. CHECK. IT’S MOVIE TIME!
Spoiler-Free Synopsis
After Earth is devastated by an unnamed apocalypse, the world is now in the throes of a global wide depression. Poorer citizens who are unable to care for themselves are enslaved and corralled into work camps. Caught in the middle are two sisters, Sarah (Ashlyn McEvers) and Natalie West (Katie Kohler). On the run, trying to avoid capture their only goal is to make to the coast where hope lies. But the sisters become separated. Now their journey of survival truly begins. Can the two reunite before it’s too late?
Apocalypse Road was written and directed by Brent Bentman (The Night Before). Alongside Bentman, was editor Michael Ray Lewis, who was also the man behind the camera. Lewis was able to create a fond longing of those little things that made their devastated world beautiful, like nature, crickets chirping or the innocent sounds of the ocean. The acting was also a big driving force in this low budget affair. Rounding out the cast with McEvers and Kohler, was a nice cameo by film veteran Nellie Sciutto (Cherokee Creek, Body Harvest) as the not so naïve and wise traveler. The gore was pretty sparse throughout, as this slow burn is more of a character expose. But when the red kroovy did flow, it was pretty fucking effective.
Post-apocalyptic films have had a pretty successful resurgence as of late. There have been several recently. Almost saturating the sub-genre to the point of being dimes a dozen. Apocalypse Road doesn’t quite fit into that shuffle though. What separates this film, is the genuine characterization of what it would be like if the world had truly ended. I’m not saying this flick is better than Fury Road, because it’s not. But it holds its own fairly well though.
Like a lot of the films I’ve reviewed recently, Apocalypse Road isn’t a true horror film by label. The film was exceptionally horrific though. Depicting the subconscious human desire that takes place when you will stop at nothing for survival, and that is one of the scariest things I can think of. The conclusion in the third act may leave you teary eyed and yet still hopeful for humanity.
Because at the end of the world, hope may be all we have left…
IMDb: 7.5/10 (Only 24 ratings)
ZombiSurvivor: 6.6/10
AS ALWAYS… THANKS FOR READING
STAY SCARED!!!!
-ZS
