The Fearway, the directorial debut from the editor of Lucky (2017), Robert Gajic, has been promoted as horror with quotes like “A Cross between Jeepers Creepers and Duel” appearing in the press materials, it’s also categorised that way on websites like IMDb & Letterboxd. Even if Noah Bessey’s script has a setup that suggests horror is the path it treads, it just isn’t true – it’s best to be upfront to keep expectations in check. Bessey & Gajic’s film is much smaller than that, instead falling in line with the mystery and suspense of the time loop. Sarah (Shannon Dalonzo) and Michael (Justin Gordon) are an engaged couple driving across an LA desert scape on their way to visit her ill father, only for them to be stalked across the beautiful desolation by a black muscle car. Pulling off the main road and escaping to a nearby diner – the pair become party to machinations with much graver consequences.
Invoking Duel suggests a film where characters are pursued across the country by a mysterious vehicle with an unrelenting blood lust. The 1970s & 80s were rife with such carsploitation staples (Christine & The Car). And the Jeepers Creepers reference hints at a violent monster, again, with blood lust, and there’s a character who would fit that bill in any other film, just here its costume and costume alone. (Plus, with the backdrop of that series, is it really something you want to invoke?) There is very little violence in the fearway, with any threat coming from the car following Michael & Sarah. It never goes further, just a black muscle car doggedly following close behind.
A character who turns this from a compelling suspense thriller that works well with its futile escape attempts, and turns it into a thinly veiled conservative tenet as its raison d’être. An accusation you can level at a lot of slashers too, by the way.
Instead of any horror, light or otherwise, mystery forms the centrepiece of Gajic’s film. Who are those people in the diner? They sure are suspicious. Why is time standing still? And how is this long straight road looping over and over, sending the pair to and passed the diner over and over? The implications and promise of those questions are far more intriguing than any generic killer car/chase film. In titles like this, questions like that are best left open and ambiguous, and for a while, Bessey’s script does just that. It lets imagination work in its favour. However, eventually, there’s a dreaded visit from Basil Exposition in the third act. A character who explains the entire concept, wrinkles and all – ripping the wind out of the sails in one flail swoop. A character who turns this from a compelling suspense thriller that works well with its futile escape attempts, and turns it into a thinly veiled conservative tenet as its raison d’être. An accusation you can level at a lot of slashers too, by the way.
With a level of acting you’d expect from the digital age of the regional genre film, with its slick, flat visuals – Gajic’s debut isn’t without its potential. Yet. The very name sets up false expectations, but if there’s one undeniable reason to recommend The Fearway – it’s the locale. An odd basis for a recommendation, I admit. However, with wide lenses and drones, the majesty of Los Angeles country is captured on camera beautifully. The cinematography captures the isolation of this part of the world and personifies that strand of the thematic text beautifully. For the multihyphenate Shannon Dalonzo, her fans will surely get a kick out of the film, as will fans of the many B-movie stalwarts in the supporting cast. Otherwise, it’s a case of looking for the film within the fearway for the real rewards.
THE FEARWAY IS OUT NOW ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS
