HIT & RUN (2009)

Cast: Laura Breckenridge, Kevin Corrigan, Christopher Shand

Directed By: Enda McCallion
Written By: Diane Doniol-Valcroze & Arthur Flam
Cinematography By: Olivier Cocaul
Editor: Miklos Wright

This movie has been done many times before and better Look at “Creepshow” “I Know what you did last Summer” and “Stuck” it’s not surprising since they are all based on a urban legend. I know this film is straight to video so what did I expect. I expected if not quality then at least have some fun with the story.

“Stuck” managed to do it a lot better with the bar raised in content and drama alone giving you the perspective of both the victim and the accidental assailant. The problem with this film is that it seemed like a calling card made by a wanna-be director trying to break into the film business and he tries way too hard with overkill when it comes to camera movements, angles and placements also overactive editing. It makes me believe that the director saw a lot of guy ritchie’s movies and took notes during “Requiem For A Dream” The scene commits s even though set at night half the time were hard to see. It doesn’t feel real it feels like a film a bad one like a sci-fi channel original movie that has so much bad effects you can’t take it seriously at all.

Another oversight is that the film has actors who are known to be good but given this ridiculous material try to swim but sink. The director also tries to distract us by having the lead wear short distracting clothes which she does look good in and may even be true to the character but it would have helped if you are going to do something like that make the film a little more exploitive. Plus come in it’s a little ridiculous to make the menacing character a well respected kindergarten teacher.

It starts off promising by giving a more realistic portrait of college-age drinking and how irresponsible some people can be and what it could lead to. But it goes downhill fast especially considering this isn’t a very long movie.

By having Laura Breckenridge have most of her scenes alone at times it makes it seem like a one woman performance. She is a good actress and is quite fetching but deserves a better film then this. Watching the films and it’s endless clichés I can’t help but think of the many ways the story could have been done different and made something at least a bit more original.

For instance after she commits the crime we could see the drama and the effects it causes to her psyche from the guilt and constant paranoia that slowly drives her mad. Or you could have her character get away with it and realizing there was a witness who is blackmailing her and how she tries to get out of it she is guilty but doesn’t deserve the things she is forced to do. Or even the thought to be dead comes back and slowly plots his revenge. Or have her dealing with the crime and realizing she has a talent for it or enjoys it and slowly begins becoming a killer. Any of those could hae worked but instead we get a by the numbers films that tries to distract and impress with music video editing and camera shots.

The interesting things about these movies is that it is always a female who hits a male and I beliee that is because if it was the other way around. It would be hard for the audience to sympathize with a man hitting a woman under any circumstances we would hate him and feel he gets what he deserves where as with our double standard of thinking we automatically feel sorry for the woman and understand it’s a accident and can truly only hate her when she shows no compassion. Or if the victim just becomes really cruel and goes way too far in the revenge. It could have helped the film if she was a character who had character instead of someone we barely know and then are asked t feel sorry for her though we know little to nothing about her. Just because we spend time with her doesn’t mean we know her. Then the film almost makes it seem like it was a good thing she hit him since he is kind of crazy anyway and was a ticking time bomb. Instead of us feeling sympathy for him now we are totally in her corner though she was irresponsible.

This feel like a really bad episode of “Masters Of Horror” or a public service announcement against drinking and driving

SPOILERS

The Third act really turns ridiculous with him returning and killing a person who was only trying to help him and was not involved I what happened to him but I guess it was because he got in the way of his revenge that he had to be killed. The director tries to make the excuse for his homicidal behavior by one of the earlier reports on him missing saying he is manic depressive. Still all in all it’s bad filmmaking. Especially when he reacts more like a zombie then a man who survived a near death experience and wants revenge. I mean what’s with him stopping home to his family? Just to get his tools ? And the bleeding phone? Then killing his wife?

Skip it


GRADE: F