WFG RATING: B+

Uncork’d Entertainment presents a Mythic Pictures production. Written and directed by Warren Fast. Produced by Warren Fast and Stacie Fast. Cinematography and edited by Joshua Lanier. 

Stars Caitlin Carmichael, Ryan Knudson, Danielle Harris, Warren Fast, Trenton Hudson, William Childress, and Christina R. Gregg.

Runtime: 90 minutes

A young woman is in for the fight of her life in this action-horror thriller from writer and director Warren Fast.

En route to a small town, a young woman drives on the road and finds a drifter on the road. Both claim to be heading towards the same area so she offers him a ride. The two get along while in the meantime, the local sheriff and his deputy have been investigating a series of murders that has plagued the area. When the driver and the drifter end up stuck in a ditch, the deputy helps them out of the ditch and they go on their way.

The sheriff has heard reports of a car matching the description of the driver being around when the murders have occurred and is livid when he learns his deputy has let them loose. Meanwhile, at a local diner, the driver protects herself against the philandering cook. Soon enough, the drifter slowly begins to reveal his nature as does the driver and the two spiral into a fight against each other with the cops hot on their trail. 

Warren Fast, known for his faith-based film Finding Grace, delves into a meshing of the road action thriller meshed with the slasher horror film with this tale of a nameless driver and a nameless drifter who cross paths and engage in both deep conversations that slowly become a fight. There are some great twists and turns with a third act that goes off with a major bang, in more ways than one.

Caitlin Carmichael is excellent as The Driver, a young woman who is just looking to go on a road trip. She has the innocence of a young woman but we soon learn when it comes to having to protect herself, definitely holds her own. And she does it with extreme force and safe to say, Carmichael could have a career in the action genre if she keeps going this route. 

As for Ryan Knudsen’s mysterious Drifter, we get his backstory in the opening moments of the film. He is a bit unhinged after suffering abuse from his mother as a child, who literally treats him as a dog. Knudsen may be seen as somewhat of an antagonist, but learning why he is the man he became is within reason as we learn the Driver’s backstory later in the film and it is clear why despite their eventual rivalry, these two have more in common than they both think. 

There is a surprise appearance from horror icon Danielle Harris as Allison, the sassy waitress who works at the diner where we see the Driver fend off and beat the holy bejesus out of the cook after he attempts to attack her from behind. We get to see Harris bring both the sassiness and her screaming while writer-director Fast plays the sheriff investigating the series of murders that have plagued the area. If that’s not crazy enough, wait until the third act because it becomes so insane with an all-out battle that lasts a good ten minutes of the film. 

Roadkill is definitely a wild ride and then some, with excellent lead performances by Caitlin Carmichael and Ryan Knudson. The third act is totally insane and Danielle Harris is iconic with her appearance in the film. This is a great way to kick off the new year! 

The film will be released in select theaters and on Digital on January 5.