Apocalypse Road [Film]

Welcome to Day 8 of our unofficially titled “12 Non-Holiday Films for the Holidays”. For 12 days, we are showcasing 12 amazing non-holiday themed films for those of us who despise holiday films or the whole damned season altogether. Enjoy!

“Following a post-apocalyptic event, two sisters are hunted down and separated by a gang of ruthless killers intent on creating their own twisted form of law and order.  The sisters must fight through this new, dangerous world to stay alive in the hopes of being reunited, and escaping to freedom.” – October Coast PR

I have to be forthright here, and say that I believe that Apocalypse Road is at the very least, a film that is WAY better than it should have been. The production value is so simple, that it actually thrives intensely because of it. So often I watch some of these lower budget films with up and coming actors, and the problem is always consistent: they over do it. Apocalypse Road is a film that simply does it right. It is an absolute visual masterpiece. The simplistic nature of the filming actually makes the film appear as though it was done with 7 to 8 figure budget. It is stylized perfectly, and each performance given is done with a perfect amount of zeal and demonstrates and appropriate amount of shock value at the right times. No one is safe, no one is of any real value. Overall, this is just a great story, brought masterfully into a visual realm.

My first question after a run through of Apocalypse Road was: who the hell is this Brett Bentman guy? Writer and director of this film, he has also put out a few other projects that are absolutely intriguing in their own right. But judging solely off of this one effort, I have to say that I already feel like we have the workings of a brilliant mind in the world of independent film who will one day thrive and become a household name in Hollywood. He is a filmmaker who can create such a great quality of work, that throwing a shit ton more money at him won’t entirely matter, but I’m sure he could figure out how to use it wisely! I have made it my goal to check out the rest of his work, and to follow along closely with whatever he does in the future. Get on board now folks, if you want to have that “I knew him when…” conversation in the very near future. I repeat, Brett Bentman is the future!

And it behooves me to mention that the film’s lead characters Ashlyn McEvers and Katie Kohler are absolutely phenomenal as well. In fact, with hopes of causing little to no spoilers in this article, there is a moment where Kohler uses the power of silence and facial expressions, followed by an outburst of fear and rage, to as perfectly describe a moment a character feels complete and utter regret about as perfectly as I have ever watched an actress do before at any level in their career. And McEvers pulls off a strong will in spite of everything character to a perfectly capital T. I’ve always been a fan of films with a strong female lead (according to my Netflix search criteria anyway), so to see a film like Apocalypse Road which features two very different characters, who are strong in their own manner, is a pretty damn good thing to see.

Apocalypse Road is all around fascinating, and is one of the finest post-apocalyptic tales to be brought to the screen in recent history. It is without a shadow of a doubt, a must see.

Apocalypse Road is available on VOD from Wild Eye Releasing. Check out the trailer below: