DRIVE BACK (2024)

New On Demand from Dark Sky Films!
Directed by Cody Ashford.
Written by Jon Sarro.
Check out the trailer here!!

A couple, Reid and Olivia (Zack Gold and Whit Kunschik), return from their engagement party and are directed to take a shortcut through the woods which ends up being a never-ending nightmare they cannot escape.

While DRIVE BACK has a very familiar premise, just check out BRIGHTWOOD from a few short years ago, the performances make it worth checking out. Zack Gold and Whit Kunschik portray very complex characters and are not afraid to be unlikable as the pressure begins to build and their escape from this endless road seems impossible. Both actors are convincing in their roles, highlighting some very big faults and still managing to make you feel compassionate for them.

The pace moves pretty briskly as well. Sure there is the initial getting to know you moments that are necessary to help orient the viewer with these two characters, but once the weird stuff starts happening, the pace really revs up nicely. And while those familiar with this TWILIGHT ZONE-esque premise will catch on sooner than most, the film does a decent job of varying the threats and also playing with time and reality enough to make the meat of the movie count. A simple ride down a road can be redundant and tedious, but DRIVE BACK adds in spiders, creepy old ladies, old hermits, and a killer with a knife and a crowbar out for blood.

There are a few moments in DRIVE BACK where the actors do and say some very dumb things. It’s one of those things where they are about to be in the clear and then, instead of just doing it, they have to stop and have a heart to heart. This happens not once, but twice, and while repetition is part of the horror going on, hearing the same speech where they promise to be better to one another is redundant. There are a number of times things are revealed only to cause conflict and eat up more screentime. It felt unnecessary and edited out, I think it would have flowed better.

That said, DRIVE BACK is a simple trip where reality takes a holiday and time gets twisted as a barb wire fence. The actors in peril are strong, making the horror all the more effective. While there really is a dark edge to these two characters making them downright dislikable at times, I found seeing them drive down this road to hell to be entertaining enough to recommend.