Route 666 (2001)
By: Craig Villinger.
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| Universal (Australia). Region 4, PAL. 2.35:1 (16:9 enhanced). English 2.0, English DD 5.1. 86 Minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: William Wesley
Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty, Steven Williams, L.Q Jones, Dale Midkiff, Alex McArthur, Mercedes Colon
Screenplay: William Wesley, Thomas Weber, Scott Fivelson
Tagline: One way in, no way out
Country: USA |
In 1988, William Wesley directed the fantastic
horror film Scarecrows. Full of atmosphere
and containing some nifty gore effects, the movie
showed that Wesley had great potential as a genre
director, and he was quick to follow it up with....
absolutely nothing. Almost fourteen years
have passed since then, and now finally Wesley's
second directorial effort has been released in
Australia. So how does it stack up against
his first horror outing? We'll get to that
in a minute.
Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Jack La Roca, leader
of a team of US federal agents sent into
the middle of the desert to retrieve high profile
mob witness "Rabbit", who has done a
runner right on the eve of his big court appearance.
Problem is, the government aren't the only ones
interested in finding this star witness, and after
catching up with him in a roadside bar (with B
movie legend Dick Miller making a cameo) La Roca
and his team are involved in a gunfight with mob
hit men which leaves them of the defensive and
desperately searching the maze of desert roads
for the quickest way back to civilization.
Despite Rabbits advice to the contrary, they decide
to travel on Route 66, nicknamed "Route 666"
by the locals after it was officially condemned
in 1969 following a violent incident that left
four chain-gang members dead. Soon enough,
they discover exactly why the road was closed
off as they are besieged by zombies hell bent
on turning them into squishy Roadkill using sledge
hammers, shovels and jack hammers, and if
that isn't bad enough, they must also deal with
the local cops who are keen on keeping route 666's
dark past a secret for a little while longer yet.
There isn't all that much to say about Route
666. The tile is fairly cheesy and un-original,
and that example seems to have been followed by
the film itself. This a disappointing follow
up to the excellent Scarecrows for director
William Wesley, and lacks virtually all of the
qualities that made his first outing so enjoyable.
There is enough splatter on offer to satisfy hardcore
horror junkies, and Wesley does manage to make
things look good, with flash cars and great desert
scenery, but there is little else on hand here
to make this movie something worth recommending.
One of the films main problems seems to be the
fact that it can't decide if it wants to be a
serious horror film or a cheesy load of zombie
nonsense, and ultimately ends up being a rather
uncomfortable mix of both. More zombie mayhem
and less talk would perhaps have made this a much
more enjoyable experience. |
| Video |
| We are treated to a fantastic looking 2.35:1 transfer
(16x9 enhanced), with strong, vibrant colours and
a sharp image throughout. No problems here. |
| Audio |
| The disc contains two audio options, a Dolby Digital
5.1 track and a 2.0 surround track. Both sound
decent enough, although they aren't anything special.
The 5.1 mix does manage to make good use of the
various desert sound effects to create an enjoyable
atmosphere. |
| Extra Features |
| Only a trailer for the film, which actually manages
to make it look as though this will be a fairly
good movie. Too bad... |
| The Verdict |
| If you enjoy zombies
and don't expect too much from your films, then
by all means head down to your local video store
and pick this one up for the night. Those
looking for something long lasting to add to their
collection however should steer away from Route
666. |
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