Coventry Review of Dead End

Dead End (I) (2003)

It's new, clever and well made. Give it a chance!

[7/10 · 5 December 2004]

Dead End is a good film to prove that the horror genre is NOT dead and that there are still young directors who approach the genre with the right attitude. The plot is nowhere near groundbreaking or astonishing, but yet you couldn't care less about that. The directors-duo (Andrea and Canepa – French guys) put their energy in creating tension and socializing with the characters, rather than to gross out their audience with uninspired gore sequences. For these efforts, I think this film is a zillion times better than other over-hyped new horror titles like 'Cabin Fever' or 'House of a 1.000 Corpses'. When you withdraw the gore from those films, there's nothing left but an empty package whereas 'Dead End' at least has some depth and intelligence. This film has a good tempo, a fair amount of suspense and it makes good use of the dark and unsettling woods where it is shot. Like I mentioned before, it's not very original. Especially for viewers familiar with some early 60's expressionism highlights, this plot (and more particularly, the end-twist) won't come as a big shock. I can't really mention the titles 'Dead End' resemblances with, as that would be the biggest spoiler one can give. There also are good performances to enjoy! Ray Wise seems to be boosting up his career by appearing in slick horror films lately. After his remarkable role in 'Jeepers Creepers 2', he now stars as the lead actor in 'Dead End'. The cute Alexandra Holden is good too and, with a little luck, I think she's might even become a big star over the next few years. The rest of the cast is rather unknown, but they all deliver above average performances. Next time you're in the videostore, ignore all the loudly announced new horror turkeys and pick this one. Dead End is the first film of Andrea and Canepa and I really hope to see their names mentioned again in future horror projects.