CELL ADORE FILM FEST - Road Trip

CELL ADORE FILM FEST

Road Trip opens with a family (Velton J. Lishke, Lucy Brown, Faith Breese and Megan Breese) as they prepare to take a trip that may be their last. As they leave, the dad warns them not to wake their neighbours while driving away. This immediately cements themes of danger and conflict. Quick snapshots which flitter between the roads and the faces of the family is the only method used to give any indication of what’s happened. Once the family arrives at their beachside destination, it becomes clear (thanks, in part, to flashbacks) that zombies have taken over and the family plans to kill themselves. 

The film mostly avoids genre tropes until the end by not only holding back the apocalyptic events from the viewer, but by focusing exclusively on the family and their journey. While the performances never stand out, they work for the emotional finale to stick the landing rather than become a melodramatic slog. 

The FX work displayed for the zombies is well done and does wonders for elevating the horror. The horror, however, mainly exists through such effects  as well as the visible unease of the family, as the post-apocalyptic world this is set in is never explored in any depth. 

Ronald J. Wright’s Road Trip is a grim post-apocalyptic film boasting strong FX work and an uncompromising vision.