Dean Francis' Road Train (aka Road Kill in the Us) is terrible. Let's get that out of the way first; it's an awful, awful film, devoid of anything but the most basic instinctive scares and with a cast who simply cannot act well enough to sell the material on any level. The only parts that make it worth watching in any sense are those that suggest what sort of movie the director hoped to make and some kind of explanation as to how things went so horribly wrong.
While Francis gives every intimation he nurtures ambitions of producing something more meaningful, Road Train follows a pretty standard template; four young Australians (two couples) go for a trip across the vast expanses of the outback, meet a road train (an articulated container truck) that runs them off the highway, steal it from the driver in place of their own wrecked car,...
While Francis gives every intimation he nurtures ambitions of producing something more meaningful, Road Train follows a pretty standard template; four young Australians (two couples) go for a trip across the vast expanses of the outback, meet a road train (an articulated container truck) that runs them off the highway, steal it from the driver in place of their own wrecked car,...
- 7/20/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Road Kill Movie Poster
Director: Dean Francis.
Writer: Clive Hopkins.
Vehicles have been a part of horror cinema in many shapes and forms since Stephen King's Christine, and Maximum Overdrive in the '80's; the genre was explored earlier in 1971 with Steven Spielberg's first feature film the Duel (Prone). Now, Australia gets in to the vehicular mayhem with a Lightning Entertainment release entitled Road Train, or for North American fans Road Kill. Road Kill is currently vying for a Fangoria Frightfest theatrical release with Blockbuster distributing the film on video-on-demand August 6th. The film builds intensity through the inclusion of a double and even triple threat, as the barren land, murderous characters, and a possessed semi-truck hinder the characters hold on life. The mystery of what motivates the eighteen wheeler is what will hook most audiences, with a tacked on ending offering some late confusion.
Clive Hopkins'...
Director: Dean Francis.
Writer: Clive Hopkins.
Vehicles have been a part of horror cinema in many shapes and forms since Stephen King's Christine, and Maximum Overdrive in the '80's; the genre was explored earlier in 1971 with Steven Spielberg's first feature film the Duel (Prone). Now, Australia gets in to the vehicular mayhem with a Lightning Entertainment release entitled Road Train, or for North American fans Road Kill. Road Kill is currently vying for a Fangoria Frightfest theatrical release with Blockbuster distributing the film on video-on-demand August 6th. The film builds intensity through the inclusion of a double and even triple threat, as the barren land, murderous characters, and a possessed semi-truck hinder the characters hold on life. The mystery of what motivates the eighteen wheeler is what will hook most audiences, with a tacked on ending offering some late confusion.
Clive Hopkins'...
- 7/5/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Ross Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Lightning Entertainment picked up the Australian road movie Road Train back in 2009; now, this distribution company has renamed the film Road Kill for North American audiences and released a second trailer for the film, which shows the truck's deadly cargo. This feature will be a part of the Fangoria Frightfest along with several other films beginning in June of this year and Frightfest includes Pig Hunt, Fragile, Grimm Love, Dark House, Hunger, The Haunting, and The Tomb. Have a look at the latest for Road Kill with this clip in which more of the film's gruesome stylings are displayed.
The synopsis for Road Kill here:
"Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by an erratically driven road train - a massive three-trailer truck. With their own vehicle wrecked, and the road train stopped, the friends march off to remonstrate with the drivers.
The synopsis for Road Kill here:
"Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by an erratically driven road train - a massive three-trailer truck. With their own vehicle wrecked, and the road train stopped, the friends march off to remonstrate with the drivers.
- 5/27/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Ross Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Road trip movies are fairly common and often mundane, but there's a subset within the genre that has a greater appeal to someone like me... and that's road trips gone bad. I'm a sucker for terror on the asphalt films like The Hitcher (original), Joy Ride, and Duel. There's something about being away from home and driving in an unfamiliar place with death right behind you. It's harder to do in Us films these days thanks to cell phones, Gps, and Stuckey's, but none of those conveniences are a guarantee in the harsh outback of Australia. Which is where the latest horror on wheels film comes from... check out the trailer for Road Train. I like the look of this one. It could easily have gone the route of a Wolf Creek/Roadgames mash-up, but director Dean Francis and writer Clive Hopkins have added a little something extra into their monster truck tale. Is...
- 11/19/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
There’s nothing like a good road (horror) movie and from the looks of this first trailer for local director Dean Francis’s Road Train, he may well soon be adding to the list. Unfairly or not, in past coverage we’ve drawn similarities in RTs storyline to Steven Spielberg’s Duel, but watching the trail it seems Francis (and writer Clive Hopkins) have thrown some new twists into the mix, and If nothing else we want to see what the hell is in the back of that truck! Still in post production there’s no word yet on when or where it’s due to open, but this has an American release written - right down to its 20-something slaughtering hub caps - all over it. Synopsis: Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by an erratically driven road train - a massive three-trailer truck.
- 11/17/2009
- 24framespersecond.net
Road Train has recently been picked up by Lightning Entertainment so a release date is not far off for the film. The writing of Clive Hopkins focuses on four friends left for dead after a vehicle accident in the desolate wasteland that is Australia. Their is also a supernatural aspect as the truck seems to be possessed a la Stephen King's Christine. Have a look at some early footage from the film until released by Lightning later this year or in 2010.
A synopsis for Road Train here:
"Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by an erratically driven road train - a massive three-trailer truck. With their own vehicle wrecked, and the road train stopped, the friends march off to remonstrate with the drivers. But mysteriously, there is no one to be found. Suddenly, the silence is broken by the sound of gunshots.
A synopsis for Road Train here:
"Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by an erratically driven road train - a massive three-trailer truck. With their own vehicle wrecked, and the road train stopped, the friends march off to remonstrate with the drivers. But mysteriously, there is no one to be found. Suddenly, the silence is broken by the sound of gunshots.
- 11/11/2009
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Back when the film was announced back in June, not much was revealed about Dean Francis' Aussie horror-thriller Road Train, which was written by Clive Hopkins. The tease that was given to us was, "The Duel-style Road Train is about a group of youngsters menaced by a driverless road train in the Australian outback." Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by a mystery road train - a massive three-trailer truck. With their own 4x4 wrecked and the road train stopped, the friends march off to remonstrate with the driver. But there is no one to be found! Suddenly, the silence is broken by the sound of gunshots. A distant figure screams and runs towards them. Are they witnesses to a murder? Theres no time to discuss it. The friends commandeer the road train. The next town is only three hours away.
- 11/24/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
What, at first, appeared to be an Australian spin on road rage thrillers like Duel and Joy Ride is beginning to sound a tad different . When Dean Francis' feature debut Road Train was announced, the story - written by Clive Hopkins - was described as being about "A group of youngsters are menaced by a driverless road train in the Australian outback." A new official plot synopsis has floated our way that's more revealing: Four young friends on a camping adventure in outback Australia are run off the road by a mystery road train - a massive three-trailer truck. With their own 4x4 wrecked and the road train stopped, the friends march off to remonstrate with the driver. But there is no one to be found! Suddenly, the silence is broken by the sound of...
- 11/24/2008
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Brit producers Paul Cowan and Chris Wheeldon of Territorial Film Developments have pacted with Oz producer Michael Robertson (ProdigyMovies) to make supernatural thriller Road Train. The Duel-style Road Train is about a group of youngsters menaced by a driverless road train in the Australian outback. First-timer Dean Francis is set to direct from a screenplay by Clive Hopkins. The project is backed by the Australian Film Commissions IndiVision Production Fund, which supports first-time feature directors. Production outfits Tfd and ProdigyMovies re-team after a successful collaboration on last years Black Water, a film about three young people whose fishing trip goes horribly wrong when their boat is attacked by crocodiles in the mangrove swamps of Northern Australia.
- 6/2/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
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