I got this film on a collection of older mysteries that came with And Then There Were None. Normally I would have skipped over it but the reviews online said it was pretty good and since it's barely an hour long I decided to give it a shot. It is certainly a competent thriller, although with minimal production values, and the ending calls to attention a curious little hole in the mental health world that I recently saw brought to light in Dennis Lehane's (the author of Mystic River) novel, Shutter Island. When someone is called insane, any defense that they put forth for themselves all too often plays right into their accusers' hands. David Ryder, the film's protagonist, is labeled insane at the end of the film, and the more he tries to defend himself, the crazier he looks.
The movie takes place back in the days when you could wreck your car and then get it fixed for less than $50, and the story concerns a highway accident, in which David runs down a man on the highway and kills him, only to find him missing after David calls for help. Throughout the rest of the movie, David is frantically trying to find out who took the body and why, and why no one will believe that he killed someone on the road.
The movie makes you ask yourself how far you would go until someone believed that you had actually killed someone, and I have to confess that I would long since have left town. I'll be the first to claim responsibility in an accidental highway death (and thank God I've never had to), but as soon as people started pointing guns at me for claiming to be responsible for accidentally killing a man, I would have gotten out of town in a hurry, I can tell you that.
The plot certainly keeps you guessing, since it is definitely a mystery as to why anyone would steal and hide the body after David hit the man, but unfortunately when the mystery is finally revealed, to say that it is a letdown is something of an understatement. It keeps you going and keeps you interested, but the payoff is pretty weak.
The movie takes place back in the days when you could wreck your car and then get it fixed for less than $50, and the story concerns a highway accident, in which David runs down a man on the highway and kills him, only to find him missing after David calls for help. Throughout the rest of the movie, David is frantically trying to find out who took the body and why, and why no one will believe that he killed someone on the road.
The movie makes you ask yourself how far you would go until someone believed that you had actually killed someone, and I have to confess that I would long since have left town. I'll be the first to claim responsibility in an accidental highway death (and thank God I've never had to), but as soon as people started pointing guns at me for claiming to be responsible for accidentally killing a man, I would have gotten out of town in a hurry, I can tell you that.
The plot certainly keeps you guessing, since it is definitely a mystery as to why anyone would steal and hide the body after David hit the man, but unfortunately when the mystery is finally revealed, to say that it is a letdown is something of an understatement. It keeps you going and keeps you interested, but the payoff is pretty weak.