Taking a low budget film to extreme the movie Roadside makes 10 hours seem like real time. Now on DVD the mystery thriller takes the audience into the dark side of reason with startling results. Although the mechanics of the production are not up to par, the story reaches above average suspense even though it may seem familiar to those who frequently watch the genre. A higher budget, a few more rehearsals and better nighttime camera work could have saved this admirable attempt.
A couple in their twenties, Dan (Ace Marrero) and his pregnant wife Mindy (Katie Stegeman), are driving to a backwoods Christmas gathering at Dan’s sister’s house. On a two lane road a pick-up truck swerves back and forth across lanes making it hard to pass. When Dan tries to go around the truck at one point an oncoming car nearly forces him off the road. Upset, but nothing they can do as the truck speeds away, they get back to their trip. After refueling and making a remark to the truck driver who had pulled in for gas, Dan resumes their trip, now getting dark and snow starting to fall.
So begins a terrifying encounter with the night, a fallen tree and a sniper with a mental problem. Director Eric England who has been making small budget films for several years wrote the script and produced it as well. A glance through the cast and crew credits reveals a number of issues that England had to face in bringing his film to DVD. While it’s a good exercise in developing his skills, low cash can mean low cost cameras, amateur acting skills, using family for crew duties and unprofessional editing. All show in the final product.
That said, it’s always good to find that the film business has not lost the energy of new faces who are making strides. Except for a few misguided and obvious errors the acting by the small cast did a good job of delivering England’s film to the editing room. Katie Stegeman and Ace Morrero who have been a mainstay for England taking roles in Trick or Treater, Madison County and others did capture Mandy and Dan with above average performances.
You can see Mandy’s “character arc” change as the movie progresses from the endearing wife to a hysterical victim. Dan’s calm and cool demeanor takes an early hit with the crazy pick-up driver and from there his attitude levels off showing a range of emotions that he would feel up against a sniper in the woods, his wife in danger being 8 month’s pregnant, the freezing cold and it’s on a dark lonely road miles from help.
Roadside has not been rated by the MPAA but does contain abusive language and violence. You may want to consider renting the film.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Ace Marrero, Katie Stegeman, Lionel D. Carson, Marshall Yates
Director: Eric England
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains violence and language
Genre: Suspense, Mystery, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 21 min
Video Release Date: April 14, 2015
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: CC only
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
