Joseph and Mike have a few things to say in the film reviews segment titled “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict.” For this segment, they focus on the film Drive Back by Cody Ashford.
A couple (Zack Gold as Reid and Whit Kunschik as Olivia), just back from their engagement party, must navigate through a long winding backroad and woods with no sense of direction, which makes them anxious and feel as though they are being pursued by some unseen force.
Joseph: Gold and Kunschik do well with their roles. Ashford knows how to build tension in his movie scenes.
Mike: There is undoubtedly tension in the circumstance of the protagonists (Reid and Olvia) in their efforts to come back home as they encounter trouble whilst attempting to take a shorter route. To explain everything related to the film would mean giving away the plot twist constructed by the writer Jon Sarro so I am afraid I will have to avoid mentioning many particulars on a range of issues.
a-maze-ingly, this is a two persons act, Gold and Kunschik are fairly convincing as a couple who are newly engaged (and expecting a child), thus adding a little extra complexity of sorts. Most couples, they have issues. What they do in such cases, however, is different. And it could be either tangible or emotional; present day or something from the past. No matter the disputes, the fears or the drawbacks, one can see clearly that there is a real feeling for one another, and this is the authors strong point: they are able to portray these characters quite well.
To begin with, the film is also made riddle-like with some elements of tension stemming from the fact that one of the characters is “missing”; there are some scenes featuring the nemesis from the synopsis as well as few drops of blood. But instead, the actual strength of the movie are the acting.
Joseph: A character who engages in needless arguments to the point that she is clearly unlikable is an instant turn-off. Unfortunately, that is how I found Reid and Olivia to be. Even more disturbing, these two become more despicable as the film goes on. As regular readers of our site should already know, in the absence of at least one character with a distinctive degree and type of development and supporting storyline, a movie becomes less interesting to view and hard to recommend. Also, a few of the supporting characters who are supposed to add intrigue into the story line were not needed so I kept asking myself why were they there to begin with.
Mike: Movies like Drive Back (without giving too much away) have their challenges since quite a few other movies also dabbled in this genre, making it easy for some people to exclaim “It’s like but instead of the city, the woods.” There’s also quite a few plot holes, one rather gaping hole with a old lady shop owner who tells the couple to take the shortcut to the trouble, and as a viewer you would just be asking yourself why she would do that. Did she know what was going to happen to them, and if she did, why did she lead them there? I would say more, but that would be revealing too much, although maybe I already crossed that line.
The Verdict Joseph : The main conflict of Drive Back is difficult to elaborate on without presenting spoilers and therefore the part is excluded from the review section and is encapsulated in the above official synopsis. However, it should be pointed out that the official synopsis which says, “must escape from a seemingly endless forested backroad” brings out the presence of science fiction in the movie. Such viewers who love looking into the footsteps of a film even after watching it might appreciate watching Drive Back. I would recommend the film mainly for the whodunit fans. Mike : While Drive Back DOES share its DNA with other (and in some cases superior) movies, Ashford has created a interesting film with suspense, partially due to the performances of the lead actors. Fans of such movies will enjoy this, although to give you examples would be spoiling the film’s premise which is somewhat predictable in itself along with other dramatic turns.
For more movies visit like Drive Back on 123Movies.