Reviews

You know you’re in the hands of two talented actors when they make a single-location thriller riveting for an entire 80 minutes.

With Hallow Road, we’re in the hands of Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys, who play Maddie and Frank Finch.

They answer a distressing phone call from their daughter Alice (voiced by Megan McDonnell) in the middle of the night. She has just hit a pedestrian with her car. The panicked parents jump into their vehicle and race to help Alice in her time of crisis.

Hallow Road is primarily set within the confines of a car, as Maddie and Frank talk to Alice and try to get to the bottom of what happened, decide what to do next, and keep her as calm as possible during the estimated 40-minute drive.

It can be a challenge to sustain the viewer’s interest with a contained feature-length story but thanks to the two excellent performances and clever script, Hallow Road grabs our attention from the start and doesn’t let go.

Even during lulls without Alice on the phone, there are plenty of meaty conversations between Maddie and Frank to keep us riveted. For example, they disagree about how to handle Alice’s situation and unpack Alice’s big announcement from earlier in the day.

Unfortunately, Hallow Road loses its way in the third act when it leaves the world of realism and ventures into a more supernatural realm. But it doesn’t commit to it – it just flirts with the possibility and ends.

Those who dislike ambiguity should steer clear of this film because the ending is confusing, under-written and underwhelming. It almost feels like a cop-out to end the story in such an abrupt and baffling way after doing such a great job of building these characters.

Pike is sensational in this role and hits so many different emotional beats. Maddie is originally calm and controlled, then she becomes angry, and then she’s overcome with fear and desperation.

McDonnell is also remarkable with her voice work and you really believe Alice’s panic and distress.

Hallow Road is an intense, unsettling and sometimes stressful film that will leave you thinking about it for hours after the credits roll, for better or worse.

In cinemas from Friday 16th May.

By Hannah Wales.

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