Road Games (2015)

SYNOPSIS

“You can stay with me. My wife likes English company.”

CRITIQUE

Here’s what I wrote about this one in my original theatrical review:

Road Games (2015)

“After a horrible summer road trip to France that has gone disastrously awry, Brit Jack (Andrew Simpson) is hitchhiking his way through the rural countryside heading to the coast so he can grab the ferry home. Along the way he chances upon the beautiful Véronique (Joséphine de La Baume), helping the young woman out of a potentially dangerous situation involving a rather angry motorist whose intentions towards her might not have been entirely pure. Striking up a fast friendship, the two agree to carry on down the road together, Véronique revealing to Jack the reason he’s been having such a terrible time getting a ride is that a mysterious killer has been stalking the region, leaving a slew of drivers in various states of murderous disrepair on the side of the road.

Seemingly not caring about any of this, gregarious local Grizard (Frédéric Pierrot), not only offers the two a ride to the coast, but also invites them to his massive country home to have dinner with both he and his charming American wife Mary (Barbara Crampton). While Véronique seems oddly unsettled by the offer, Jack is happy to agree, spending the evening with this pair proving to be both intellectually stimulating as well as physically relaxing. It is not until the morning when he starts to believe something might be off as it pertains to Grizard and Mary, realizing he and his gorgeous new friend should get out of the pair’s house before it is too late.

In writer/director Abner Pastoll’s Road Games, nothing is as it initially appears, and in somewhat obvious Hitchcockian fashion fish out of water Jack finds himself in the middle of a dangerous psychological minefield where every next step could be his last. Who is who and what is what are the central questions around which everything revolves, and while I always had a pretty good idea of where it was all heading getting there was such murderously giddy fun I didn’t actually mind the surprises were relatively few and even further between. The film is well structured, gorgeously shot and confidently directed, and as feature-length narrative debuts go Pastoll’s is a strong one that has me blissfully excited to see what he’s got in store for us all in the very near future.

It starts with Simpson. A long way from his early days as a teenager falling for Cate Blanchett in Richard Eyre’s Notes on a Scandal, the actor has matured nicely, oozing a charming form of befuddled, easy-going masculinity that reminded me of David Niven in A Matter of Life and Death or Fred MacMurray in Murder, He Says. He comes into his own with devilish self-assurance yet still manages to maintain a form of cheery, well-intentioned cluelessness that’s nothing less than wonderful. His chemistry with the gorgeous de La Baume (who is equally stunning in the frightfully underrated Kiss of the Damned) is off the charts, making Jack’s inability to see things as clearly as maybe he should oddly understandable as events slowly begin to spiral out of control.

Pierrot, a terrific actor known for his appearances in films like Young & Beautiful, Polisse and I’ve Loved You So Long, tips his hand a little too much, I think, at least as far as what it is that is driving all of Grizard’s various actions as they pertain to Jack, and I do wish he would have played things a little closer to the vest. But he and Crampton – who, it must be said, is on quite a roll, what with You’re Next, We Are Still Here and now this – are paired together nicely, the emotions fueling their actions pure, genuine and, in the end, heartbreaking. The iconic horror actress, most known for her work for director Stuart Gordon in Re-Animator and From Beyond, is as good as she has ever been, the look on Mary’s face as Jack and Véronique exit Grizard’s car speaking volumes as it deftly, and subtly, hints at the madness to come.

Road Games (2015)

Some of this, most notably subplot involving a local who spends his days cleaning up road kill (veteran French character actor Féodor Atkine), is just too weird for its own good, while some of the structural trickiness Pastoll’s script finds itself getting obsessed with isn’t nearly as clever as I imagine the filmmaker thinks it is. But the plot mechanics are always solid, everything building to final moments that are, if not unforeseen, insidiously refreshing all the same, the inherent creepiness of the climax also containing a winsome modesty that’s pleasingly disturbing. Throw in Eben Bolter’s stunning camerawork, Damien Creagh’s (Nina Forever) suitably immersive production design and Daniel Elms’ sinister, John Carpenter-like score and the pieces just fit together too nicely to be even moderately dismissed, Road Games an intoxicating, adrenaline-filled thriller that’s as brutal as it is invigorating.”

I really like Road Games. This is a beautifully constructed Hitchcockian thriller that gets better with each viewing. In short, it’s very good, and as such I feel like interested parties should definitely give the film a look.

THE VIDEO

Road Games is presented on a 50GB Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video with a 2.35:1 1080p transfer.

THE AUDIO

This Blu-ray features dueling English and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks and includes optional English subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Extras here include:

Audio Commentary with director Abner Pastoll and actress Barbara Crampton – Wonderful commentary track filled with insights; just terrific.

Making Of Featurette (6:01) – Fairly standard behind the scenes piece containing some really solid interviews with the cast and crew.

Outtakes (6:15)

Alternate Scene (00:56)

Deleted Scenes (7:18)

World Premiere Q&A (14:14) – Frightfest Q&A with the director along with all four of his actors. Good, if fairly typical (and also much too brief).

Original Theatrical Teaser Trailer (00:37)

Original Theatrical Trailer (1:50)

A DVD version of the movie is also included with this release. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Road Games is quickly moving up my list of 2016 sensations that caught me by surprise, this fun little thriller a nice game of cat and mouse that nimbly conceals its biggest and boldest tricks for the final act. Scream! Factory’s Blu-ray release is aces on the technical front while also comes packed to the gills with solid special features, making this release magnificently easy to recommend.