BITS 2017: ‘Buckout Road’ – Movie Review

Every time I see a huge name in an indie horror film, I typically expect little more than a glorified cameo to draw an audience in with name value. So when I was given Buckout Road to review and saw Danny Glover listed amongst the cast, I expected about 2 minutes of screen time and not much else but the plot sounded cool so I decided to dive on in and check it out. Buckout Road premiered at The Blood in the Snow Candian Film Festival last week.

Buckout Road is the directorial debut of Matthew Currie Holmes, who also wrote the film. The film stars Evan Ross (Mockingjay Part 1 & 2), Danny Glover (Saw 2004), Dominique Provost-Chalkley (Wynona Earp TV Series), Colm Feore (Storm of the Century 1999), Michelle Mylett (Ascension 2014), Patrick Garrow (Poltergeist 2015), Jim Watson (Slasher TV Series), Mayko Nguyen (Killjoys TV Series), Henry Czerny (Fido 2006), and David Hayter (Metal Gear Solid).

A college class project on creation and destruction of modern myth, turns terrifying when a trio of young people come to realize the urban legends surrounding the famed Buckout Road may, in fact, be REAL.

I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with Buckout Road. To start, the cast is excellent. Danny Glover, who is an actor I have loved since seeing Lethal Weapon and Predator 2 as a child. He does a great job playing the grizzled psychiatrist looking for answers. He receives much more screen time than I expected and he interacts well with the rest of the cast. Evan Ross plays one of the leads, Aaron, Glover’s grandson, who comes back to town after a lifetime of being abandoned. Ross nails it as a character that has a lot of emotional baggage. He’s able to portray the part with depth while still remaining likable.

Dominique Provost-Chalkley (who I loved from Wynona Earp) is wonderful as Cleo, the daughter of a local cop and love interest to Aaron. She’s likable, lovely, and tenacious. The relationship between Cleo and Aaron is one of many strong aspects of Buckout Road. They are believable as new friends who blossom into more as they bond over their mutual traumatic pasts. Henry Czerny plays Cleo’s father, a gruff and unlikable bastard, but he plays the part well.

I really liked the story of Buckout Road and how it gave them the opportunity to explore various subgenres of horror. There are witches, creepy creatures, cannibalistic albino’s complete with slasher movie tropes, and even some ghost and cult stuff. It kept the film moving at a steady pace, gave the film a unique feel, and kept me from ever getting bored.

Buckout Road is the type of film that will keep you on your toes, leaving you never knowing exactly what is going to happen next and where the story is going to go. The filmmakers play with the line between faith and fact, the tangible and intangible, and fiction and reality. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming and thought the ending worked well.

Final Thoughts on Buckout Road

Buckout Road is a unique take on the urban legend film that subverts genre tropes one minute while embracing them the next. It features an amazing cast who does a great job playing off each other’s strengths, making you care about the situations and characters. Buckout Road is a film with a little something for everyone and I highly recommend you check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpIQURmNRhw