TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) premiered the full movie from 2017, Downrange the year it was completed.
For another film from Ryuhei Kitamura, Check out Midnight Meat Train, an awesome movie adaptation from a novel by Clive Barker.
Need another film from Shudder to watch?, find out more information about 2019’s Daniel Isn’t Real.
What is Downrange About?
Imagine you are on the side of the road with a car that won’t start. On the way to a birthday celebration, with a few of your friends. One by one someone somewhere is picking you all off.
What do they want and will any of you get out alive?
Cast: Kelly Connaire (Jodi), Stephanie Pearson (Keren), Rod Hernandez-Farella (Todd), Anthony Kirlew (Eric), Alexa Yeames (Sara), Jason Tobias (Jeff).
Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura. Screenplay by: Joey O’Bryan. They both wrote the story.
Just How Great is the Full Movie?
A group of young people carpooling to various places and their tyre blows out. They are in the middle of nowhere. While the boys set about changing the tyre, some chat and check their phones. Others attempt to update statuses online with varying degrees of success due to intermittent phone coverage. The enormity of the group’s isolation is perfectly set by camera angles that show each direction of the road. Each way looking as though they lead to nothing but horizon.
The only prop is the car they are in, yet this becomes their means of safety. When the action starts, I could not un-glue my eyes from the screen. I have seen reviewers describe movies of this type as ‘fun.’ For those that tend to attribute that word to merciless killing, then you are in for a treat. You might be the type to silently applaud with glee when another character gets mowed down. Grab a beer and take bets on who’s going to die next.
Me, I become inspired by a movie’s ability to stick to a well-trodden formula and predictable storyline and still have that absolutely annihilating ‘holy crap’ moment. It’s like striking gold when it happens more than once. Downrange managed to do exactly that and then plant a surprise present. So what if you can predict a few outcomes? So what if you can tell a character’s actions will result in something that doesn’t benefit them? When the atmosphere and pacing is spot on, what’s not to like?
Sit back and enjoy the unpretentious expertise of a filmmaker who grabbed a few friends (Taro Maki and Ko Mori) and made a movie that just shows you a good time.
Final Thoughts
The entire cast is not complete unknowns which might be why I felt comfortable with the ensemble early on. I particularly took a shine to Todd (Rod Hernandez) only to discover this is his first feature film. In any case, I liked the characters a lot despite the formulaic and innocent nature of them.
I’ve seen a lot of ‘thinking’ films 2017 had to offer. Sometimes though, it’s tiresome. I like a good slasher. But good ones are few and far between. Most aren’t executed in a way that both excites and satiates me.
I consider Kitamura the king of atmospheric tension. Having him behind a low-budget single location slasher film is like going home to Grandmas for a baked dinner on Sunday. You just can’t beat it. When I saw in the press release that Kitamura and O’Bryan created the concept to hone in on films like Duel, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Hitcher, I knew why I began to think about one or two of those films afterward.
I give Downgrade
4 John Ryder’s not dead, he’s got camouflage out of 5
Words by Vanessa Stewart Gary Gamble is the founder, editor and chief of Moviehooker. My website vanessasnonspoilers.com Don't forget, if you like it,share it!
down·range (doun’rānj’)
adj., adv. Traveling in a specified direction away from the launch site and toward the target: ‘rounds streaked downrange at more than a mile a second’.
In a war zone — Military Slang
