Based on the “Prowler-esque” villain and the new low key nature of director Chris R. Witherspoon and this project, I expected Rage to be another in a sea of forgettable low budget slasher flicks. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Within the first five minutes, I was invested in the main character, impressed by the visuals, interested in learning more of the story and was surprised by the quality of the production. Rage didn’t look like a shot on digital video cheapie. It looked like an old school horror flick; something that is inherently nostalgic to me and takes me back to childhood when I first started to discover all of the thrills of the horror genre.
Rage is a cautionary tale about Dennis Twist; a man who has a loving, caring wife at home yet sneaks around behind her back and plows another woman. Rage begins right at the tale end of this affair, Dennis’ conscience has gotten the better of him and he’s breaking his tryst off. His mistress pleads and begs him to reconsider and advises that her crazy ex boyfriend is still in jail and shouldn’t be his concern. Dennis simply reaffirms that he loves his wife and ends it there. Immediately upon returning to his vehicle in the parking lot, he notices a leather clad biker on a crotch rocket sitting in front of him, staring him down. The biker pulls out in front of him and sits and waits at a light for a good minute, aggravating Dennis who begins honking angrily. The cat and mouse antics steadily increase in frequency and violent nature, as the biker keeps showing up unexpectedly and things start taking a turn for the worse. Like any good slasher worth it’s weight, the protagonist doesn’t speak or make any sounds, save for a few Jason Voorhees-ish grunts. The biker is very effective and menacing and reminded me a ton of the killer from the Prowler by appearance and mannerisms. The film culminates in a violent and nasty showdown which I obviously won’t spoil here, but it was enough to disgust my wife and put her off the film entirely! I felt the last few scenes were necessary in order to cement certain aspects of the film that are hugely integral to the plot. The film isn’t overly gory or heavy in the special effects department, opting for realism over buckets of blood and guts. While the special effects were average, the character development, and writing overall was fantastic. Never a dull moment during the picture, I was entertained and felt sympathy, shock, horror and relief throughout the film. I didn’t find any of the story elements far fetched or unbelievable and it’s this realism and probability that makes the film so effective. There may not be anything like Freddy Krueger invading your dreams in reality, but an angry psychopath you encounter on the roads seems to be a more common and probable occurrence these days.
I was thoroughly impressed with Christopher R. Witherspoon’s Rage; a film that he wrote, directed, edited and starred in! (He plays the biker). A powerhouse of a film, I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.
