Toad Road (2012) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Jason Banker
Starring: Sara Anne Jones, James Davidson
Rated: UR/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Artsploitation Films
A different kind of American independent horror film, Toad Road is a hallucinatory and hypnotic odyssey through mutating realities, drug use, urban legends, and nightmares. Stuck in a dead end town, young James kills time with his druggie friends, engaging in debauched chemical intake to the point of unconsciousness, until he meets Sara, a sweet new arrival to their group.
Toad Road is a film that paints a very grim picture. It is hard to tell what is real and what isn’t based on the style they used while filming. The film isn’t a found footage film, but it goes with that same filming style from time to almost making the viewer a character in the film. It isn’t the usual type of horror film you’d expect. The movie plays like a combo of Kids and The Blair Witch Project. That makes for about 90% character piece showing the dark world of kids using psychedelic drugs. You then top that off with 10% horror that deals with urban legends and creeps you out. The film will be a matter of taste, however, it is hard not to be intrigued by what you see on the screen at all times.
There will be a strange and scary mystic that will forever be connected with Toad Road. Some for what you see on screen and some for the truth behind what happened to the film’s lead after the movie was done made. The film already leaves you with a depressing and dead feeling when you are watching and finding out details like I’m referring to after only adds to it. This is a very art driven horror film and the art is driven by the reality of the characters and situations. The movie is already something to see long before the scary stuff even starts.
– Audio Commentary with Jason Banker, James Davidson, Jamie Siebold, Scott Rader, and Jorge Torres-Torres
– Deleted Scenes
– Behind the Scenes Featurette
– James Davidson and Sara Anne Jones Audition Video
– DUI Story
– Shotgun a Beer clip
– Trailers
– 8-page collectible booklet
