Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Dead End

  • 20032003
  • RR
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
30K
YOUR RATING
Dead End (2003)
Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
Play trailer1:42
1 Video
12 Photos
AdventureHorrorMystery
Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
30K
YOUR RATING
    • Jean-Baptiste Andrea
    • Fabrice Canepa
    • Jean-Baptiste Andrea
    • Fabrice Canepa
  • Stars
    • Ray Wise
    • Lin Shaye
    • Mick Cain
    • Jean-Baptiste Andrea
    • Fabrice Canepa
    • Jean-Baptiste Andrea
    • Fabrice Canepa
  • Stars
    • Ray Wise
    • Lin Shaye
    • Mick Cain
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 292User reviews
    • 88Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:42
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos12

    Mick Cain in Dead End (2003)
    Alexandra Holden, Lin Shaye, and Mick Cain in Dead End (2003)
    Alexandra Holden, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, and Ray Wise in Dead End (2003)
    Amber Smith and Ray Wise in Dead End (2003)
    Alexandra Holden in Dead End (2003)
    William Rosenfeld in Dead End (2003)
    Dead End (2003)
    Dead End (2003)
    Dead End (2003)
    Alexandra Holden, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, and Amber Smith in Dead End (2003)
    Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, and Ray Wise in Dead End (2003)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ray Wise
    Ray Wise
    • Frank Harrington
    Lin Shaye
    Lin Shaye
    • Laura Harrington
    Mick Cain
    Mick Cain
    • Richard Harrington
    Alexandra Holden
    Alexandra Holden
    • Marion Harrington
    William Rosenfeld
    • Brad Miller
    • (as Billy Asher)
    Amber Smith
    Amber Smith
    • Lady in White
    Karen S. Gregan
    • Doctor
    Sharon Madden
    • Nurse
    Steve Valentine
    Steve Valentine
    • Man in Black
    Jimmie F. Skaggs
    Jimmie F. Skaggs
    • 1st Worker
    Clement Blake
    Clement Blake
    • 2nd Worker
      • Jean-Baptiste Andrea
      • Fabrice Canepa
      • Jean-Baptiste Andrea
      • Fabrice Canepa
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    P2
    5.9
    P2
    Wind Chill
    5.8
    Wind Chill
    Enter Nowhere
    6.5
    Enter Nowhere
    The Children
    5.9
    The Children
    Vacancy
    6.2
    Vacancy
    High Tension
    6.7
    High Tension
    Splinter
    6.1
    Splinter
    Session 9
    6.4
    Session 9
    Dead End
    6.0
    Dead End
    Wrong Turn
    6.1
    Wrong Turn
    Eden Lake
    6.7
    Eden Lake
    Frozen
    6.2
    Frozen

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie was a smash hit on home media earning U.S. $ 77 millions by DVD sales.
    • Goofs
      (at around 39 mins) When Laura is chasing the hearse, and Frank and Marion stop following her, a third shadow can be seen off to their right, running beside them.
    • Quotes

      Laura Harrington: Was there no dial tone?

      Frank Harrington: No, Laura. I just forgot the number to 9-1-1!

    • Crazy credits
      At the end of the end credits, there's this message: "To everyone still with us at the end of these credits, thank you! God bless you. You sure do like Movies!"
    • Connections
      Featured in Hellphone (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      Bloody Road
      Music by Greg De Belles

      Lyrics by Jo Kimberley

      Performed by Jo Kimberley

      Produced by Greg De Belles

      Published by Klektik Music / BMI

    User reviews292

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    A fun as hell genre flick that never pretends to climb Mt. Everest and thus leaves the viewer with more than just a feeling of simple satisfaction, but one of raw enjoyment.
    Further proof that Hollywood just doesn't get it right anymore.

    When it comes to the horror genre, simplicity is beyond best. It's the one genre where frequently the more feeble the material, the better it can be.

    Dead End is an avatar of this principle. The plot is essentially just a concept film; family driving in a car, lost on a road that seems to not end, encountering things beyond explanation along the way. There isn't anything complicated about that and there shouldn't be anything complicated about that. It's a script that builds in on itself, instead of expanding outwards into new territory - yah, I said territory. It doesn't continue to introduce new elements to the fold, in the first 7 minutes it throws it's hands up and says, "this is what you're gonna get, so take it." And I applaud the filmmakers for this. It's something seldom done in the genre these days. All too often do horror scripts follow a formulaic plot that spirals outwards instead of simply just constructing a boxed in realm of the film's reality and then letting the character's react realistically within it. Dare I say it is actually rather Shakespearean in this way? Oh, I dare. Shakespeare was known for creating a story, believable characters and then letting the play unfold as if the characters were realistically responding to the world created around them. This is exactly the scenario with Dead End. It avoids the most common pitfall of the genre; characters that act without logic, without interest and without motivation. It's something scriptwriters should pay considerably more attention to. Characters like these possess some kind of magical power that gives a +20 to any cinematic enjoyment. I cast magic characters! And speaking of those characters, their actions may be realistically responsive, but if it weren't for the remarkably energetic performances of all the cast then all would be for naught. Ray Wise is the man in this movie. He is just badass without being over the top. He has created out of the father a man who is just trapped in an obviously humdrum life and transformed him into someone you just can't help but smile at every time he curses at his family. He is just great. Great, great, great. If I had to recommend the movie for any one single reason, it would be to just enjoy Ray Wise.

    The rest of the cast is fantastic as well, Wise doesn't eclipse the few other actors there are, but they all compliment each other like they really were a family. It is the definition of on screen chemistry.

    Now, the question you're asking, is it scary? Yes and No. No, it isn't balls-to-the-wall horror. It does fall prey to the optimism of the genre, but it's excusable and I'll get to that in a minute. The script is kinetic, always driving ahead and only pausing as long as necessary to make a point or get in a scare. It's because of this that the film will never scare the **** out of you, but when it wants to it'll keep your heart rate elevated to the point that you're aware of it enough to say to yourself, "hey, this movie is kinda freaking me out." I respect that. It knows it isn't hardcore, so it does exactly what it should and keeps your blood pumping a little faster than normal throughout. I love that feeling. But I also have a wild imagination and so was consistently prepped for an entry into the negative space of the car windows or emerging ever so slightly from the edge of the woods. And that'll freak my junk out more effectively than what you do see.

    As for the film falling victim to the optimism of the genre. This is true, but it is appropriately so. It doesn't establish throughout the rest of the movie that it should be taken as the hardest of horror, so no pretending means no disappointment in the end. Oh, and worth an important note for most viewers, there isn't a whole lot of gore, it really does leave a lot up to the imagination (as it should), but what blood there is isn't over the top and there are no CGI scares. Take that for what it's worth, but it's worth a lot to me.

    That said, I would have preferred a different ending. Not solely because I would have preferred a darker ending, but simply because the ending has an air of unreliability to it. It attempts to mollify the question that the movie never asks, but obviously the viewer will ("what exactly is happening here?") and I felt that wasn't really necessary. I liked that the movie wasn't raising question after question. I liked that it turned its back to the whole issue, so when the events of the last two or three minutes of the film hit the viewer, or me at least, they feel out of place.

    All in all, this is movie that strips away the gloss and glamour prevalent to the genre as of late, establishes the concept and then happily throws what it's got left at the wall. Yes, it doesn't all stick, but the little things that don't are more than shadowed by the much larger portions that do. Dead End is worth your time and money. Rent it and watch it by yourself or with a date, but not in a group. A group would kill the pleasant intimacy that makes the film work beyond its bounds.

    I'm hesitant to say instant classic, because obviously it won't be universally so, but it deserves that accolade in my book. Check it out.

    The one sentence review: Dead End is a fun ass genre flick that never pretends to climb Mt. Everest and thus leaves the viewer with more than just a feeling of simple satisfaction, but one of raw enjoyment.
    helpful•159
    74
    • peter-945
    • Mar 27, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 26, 2003 (Brazil)
      • France
      • Pentagon Pictures
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Captain Movies
      • Sagittaire Films
      • Le Studio Canal+
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 25 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Dead End (2003)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Dead End (2003) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.