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Overall Rating : 5/10
Directed By : Richard Brandes
Rachel Miner (Bully)
Mimi Rogers (Ginger Snaps)
Chad Todhunter
Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes (1977) )
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Mar. 19, 2007
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| PLOT Young Penny goes on a retreat with her psychologist (Rogers); the intention is to help her overcome her phobia, an intense fear of cars. Unexpected events find her in a nightmarish situation where her worst fears come true. |
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| THE REVIEW Imagine having an intense fear of something and then having to face it head on unrepentantly, well that's exactly what happens to Penny Dearborn. In PENNY DREADFUL, Penny Dearborn has the fear of cars. The fear came about when Penny was young... while heading to the mountains with her Mother. The tripe would be a fateful one as it would end up killing her Mother - Penny would survive but would have the fear of every stepping into a car again because of that wreck. In order to overcome the fear, Penny along with her therapist, Orianna Volker. Head to the scene of the accident that changed Penny's life forever. Orianna, believes that if Penny comes "full-circle" and returns to the scene to realize it's not how she remembers it, it will help her cope with the nightmares she has of the crash. Penny is terrified to even go on the trip because she is afraid something will happen. Orianna Volker assures her that it's all as a result of her fear and nothing happens.... but for once it seems the patient is wiser than the physician. It's night fall and amidst the darkness it overshadows the road, so much so that Orianna does not see what's ahead as she hits a pedestrian in the road. Feeling sorry for her mistake Orianna offers the mysterious person a ride, even though Penny objects. Not saying a word, the Hitch-hiker sits in the backseat, the drop the person off at the location they requested but once Orianna are to leave, this person seems to not be finished with them. Fearful that the person will chase them they fled but soon find themselves with a flat tire as a result of the stranger spiking the tire. Injuring herself earlier, Penny even though filled with terror is forced to stay behind while her therapist looks for help - but she wouldn't make it. Orianna, while looking for help, eventually lands in the clutches of the cloaked killer as does many others in the area. Penny isn't safe from this stalker either as she is all alone. She must stay in the car, the one thing she is frightened of most, seeing as it serves as her only means of protection from the seemingly crazed person that is lurking outside. Picking up a hitch-hiker is a common fear probably shared by almost anyone, because you just do not know who they could be. Many films have either hinted on this, such as RIDING THE BULLET(in which it was reversed and the driver was a little weird) and perhaps the most straight-forward, THE HITCHER(original and remake) - so films of the type are nothing new. In PENNY DREADFUL something new is introduced of as a young woman's fear of automobiles in combined with the theory of the evil hitch-hiker - the only thing shielding her from a maniac outside is what she has been frightened of ever since a terrible accident. I'll admit the plot is brilliant, the story ends up being executed through actions of clichéd proportions. Everything that happens in these types of movies seems to happen in PENNY DREADFUL also. Someone goes out for help, ends up dead, only to leave the remaining survivor(s) behind to fight off something evil - the said survivor gets out of the vehicle in an effort to escape/find the previously mentioned person and ends up getting hurt(or is already - rendering them not able to get very far). then somehow end up back in the vehicle locked doors and all....but by some miracle of occurrences the stalker still ends up in the car anyway.... With that said - and like the recent direct to video Lion attack film PREY, most of the film takes place in the confinements of a vehicle. Most people particularly like this style of shooting with only one set location for a whole film but call me picky but I am easily bored with it. The film is part slasher, part psychological thriller as Penny suffers of many flashbacks and seems to at one point have difficult separating fiction from reality and in this department the film succeeds for the most part but as much as it works for the film, there's even more that I found wrong with it. Again, our villain here is yet ANOTHER escaped mental patient....is this all that screenwriters can think of these days, surely not...but it's probably the easiest plot to write around for them. On top of that the killer featured in PENNY DREADFUL isn't that intimidating at all and their presence doesn't exactly demand attention from the viewer - dressed in a long hooded coat/cloak like jacket, the killer's face is barely shown throughout the film, spare maybe their lips and hands. By the time the face is fully revealed near the films end, no real shock really follows - it's not exactly as impactful as say, the first time we saw Jason unmasked, for example. The acting between Rachel Miner and Mimi Rogers as the two of them's interaction seems genuine. But once Rogers' character Orianna dies at the hands of the killer, Miner's character of Penny must go it alone. I personally think Rachel Miner is a terrific actress and she easily gives one of her best performances here. But without the lack of a supporting actor or actress for most of the film, it to me, just isn't enough to carry the film. As mentioned before the film is decent in that it tries to combine both thriller and slasher into one. But after awhile it becomes a little to repetitive to me the one shooting location for most of the film gives the film no chance to expand or diversify. It essentially becomes no different than any other film that has attempted the scenario. Just imagine if the scene from CUJO in which the Mother and Son are locked in the car, with the rabid Cujo lunging at them from the outside had been a full length film. People remember that scene in Cujo probably the most but it was only a small part of the film with lots of build up until that point. Personally I would've liked to have had more back-story in PENNY DREADFUL, maybe more on the crash or even more "post crash" events, that way we could witness Penny dealing with the problems Penny's fears cause her beforehand...before the events that occur in the film. In the end i'll say it was a great idea, but it was ran on entirely too long. In my opinion without the backing story to toughen the film's purpose, maybe it would've fared better as a short film.... nonetheless the film is decent. |
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| GORE
METER 3.5 Not really that gory to me. There stab wounds, a slit throat.... and a scene in which a victim in dragged under the car(I really liked this spot) is all I can remember. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 To be honest I don't remember much of the score, it was the typical suspense driven score, but nothing that really caught my attention. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Overall, PENNY DREADFUL is a film that adds something a little different to a story that has been done time and time again. It's enjoyable at first, but as i've mentioned with most of the scenes not leaving one location becomes rather boring after awhile, and you want it to move on to something different(well some people will at least, myself included), but it doesn't The overall appeal of the film seems to be 50/50 as some seem to like it while others wanted more from it, so all I can say is check it out for yourself as your opinion may be a little different. The After Dark Horrorfest set (available individually, or as a boxed set) will be released on March 27, 2007 |
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