James, a young twenty-something, spends his days and nights with his small-town druggie friends getting high on various chemical concoctions. Living a completely directionless lifestyle, James has nothing going on until he meets Sara, a sweet, innocent young woman who doesn't partake in his lifestyle. Sara indirectly shows James that there is more to life than getting high, but while James wants to abandon this dangerous lifestyle, Sara wants to further explore the psychedelic effects of narcotic experimentation. Sarah convinces James to introduce her to the local legend of Toad Road, a mysterious area in the deep forest that features the Seven Gates of Hell. Jason Banker's Toad Road is a unique piece of film-making that is part minimalistic study of rural life, part brooding horror film. The film's strength lies in its observational attributes, being a very detailed study of drug-addicts. Many of these scenes feel more like a documentary than a narrative, capturing the entire process of drug use including the before, during and after effect of drugs on these users. The film's other half, a Blair Witch-style horror film, is not nearly as interesting and I found that the film suffered greatly when venturing down this road. That doesn't mean the film is empty after Sarah and James venture onto Toad Road, showing how James' drug-filled stupors destroy his focus, lacking any clarity on Sarah's disappearance. This causes James to begin to question his own innocence, with one of Toad Road's best attributes being when it focuses on James' fractured psyche. Toad Road is an interesting low-budget experiment but I wish it would have left out more of the supernatural elements in its examination of the powerful effects drugs can have on ones' mind. 6/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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