Getaway (Review)
Getaway is a Surprisingly Well Done Indie Horror Flick.
It’s not often that a film’s ending can honestly take me off guard, but I have to give it to Getaway for blindsiding me in the end. The movie honestly kept me guessing right up till the big reveal, but I’m not going to spoil that part for you. Instead, I’ll say that it’s a well thought out and interesting thriller that embraces a recent trend I’ve seen in indie films that strongly reminds us that a woman’s only natural enemy is a man. I’m sure there are a lot of guys out there throwing the “not all men” response down, and I agree, not all men. That’s what makes it so scary though because you never know which one might be the SOB to attack a woman. Getaway takes that into consideration and does most of the men in the film justice, even if a few of them are scumbags.
Getaway starts with friends Tamara (Jaclyn Betham), Maddy (Scout Taylor-Compton), and Brooke (Landry Allbright), taking a weekend getaway to a lake. They spend the afternoon day drinking before heading out to a local bar for a night on the town. Things take a dark twist when Tamara is drugged and kidnapped by a trio of men (see what I was saying). She awakens tied in a barn with them talking about how they’re going to “spread their seed” before sending her to heaven to make little angel babies (pretty creepy stuff). Picking up on the religious vibe, she tells them that she’s a witch and will curse them. The three don’t believe a word, but when strange things start to happen they reconsider just how dangerous this woman might be.
I’ve reviewed a few movies recently that have gone straight to VOD and for the most part, there’s a reason why they weren’t released in theaters first. That said, Getaway is a surprisingly solid film. Director Lane Toran shows a great deal of competence and vision behind the camera, and that goes a long way in lending legitimacy to the film. The cinematography is sound and without the harsh digital feel that so many VOD movies have, which is one of my biggest personal pet peeves (provided there’s no artistic reason for it). He teamed with lead actress Jaclyn Betham to pen the script and she provides a great deal of insight on what it’s like to be a woman in a world where men can be wolves in sheep’s clothing. That’s partly why Getaway throws up so many red herrings at the beginning. The ladies come across a few potential creeps, but as the saying goes “not all men” are psycho killers. Because of that, it was hard to figure out who the bad guys might be before they actually revealed themselves.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the film was Betham’s performance and her character. Tamara is a character that actually uses her brain and finds ways to plant doubt in her abductor’s minds from the get-go. Her verbal sparring escalates to the point that she’s able to take advantage of their dwindling moral to actually escape. I won’t tell you where the film goes from there, but the other women in it are written just as well. Don’t get me wrong, Getaway is at no risk of winning an award for its script, but it’s refreshing to see a horror movie that isn’t completely filled with idiots. The same goes for the quality of the performances as well. The casting is pretty spot-on, especially when it comes to the creeps. However, the three women are at the center of the tale and the actresses share believable chemistry that goes a long way in convincing the audience in the sincerity of their friendship.
Getaway does struggle a bit after the big reveal, but up to that point it is genuinely had my attention and curiosity. It’s not exactly the scariest horror film I’ve seen in recent memory, but it is one with plenty of tense moments. More than that, I was genuinely interested to see how things turned out for the characters. The setting is pretty creepy and is reminiscent of backwoods horror locations that are so popular within the genre. This is appropriate since Scout Taylor-Compton has past experience with Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II, all though, I dare say I enjoyed Getaway more than either of those films. Of course, being a product of its genre, there are moments that led me to roll my eyes and snicker, but most of that was because of the details (the bar goes from country to house music for example).
Simply put, Getaway is a solid scary movie. It’s at no risk of giving you nightmares, but it’s a well-planned and executed film that keeps you just off-balance enough as it raises the stakes. I’ll be curious to see where Toran goes from here as a director and hope he sticks with the genre. While it could have used a little more tension in certain places, I don’t have any serious complaints with the film (other than the last five minutes being a bit of a let down). Getaway isn’t a great film, but it is a pretty good one. If you’re curious about the premise at all, I think you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised with this VOD flick.
