Detour review: Horror maestro Christopher Smith returns with a thriller in the vein of True Romance.
Detour review by Kat Hughes, February 2017.
Detour review
Director Christopher Smith first caught our attention with Creep. The film saw Franka Potente trapped overnight within the bowels of the London Underground, stalked by something dangerous. He followed that with Severance, Triangle and Black Death, a trio of films strongly within the horror genre. Next, he rather oddly made Christmas comedy Get Santa, an ill-advised career step, but his latest offering sees him step back into the darker heart of cinema.
Harper (Tye Sheridan) is a promising young law student. Sadly, his mother is in a coma following a car accident with his step father Vincent (Stephen Moyer). Worse still, she’s about to be taken off of life support and Vincent looks set to inherit everything. Believing that Vincent had a hand in the accident, Harper is desperate for revenge. After running into the dangerous Johnny (Emory Cohen) and his stripper girlfriend Cherry (Bel Powley), Harper sees an opportunity to have Vincent ‘taken care of’. Things don’t quite go to plan though and Harper finds himself along for the ride.
Detour is a tale that has been told before, but Smith’s take is interesting. For the majority of the run time he utilises a split screen. Starting from the moment that Johnny offers to remove Vincent from Harper’s life, the screen splits, a lá Sliding Doors. Side-by-side views of different timelines and options then follow as we see Harper both journey to Vegas and stay at home. The story-telling technique makes certain that the audience is engaged.
Detour review
Also helping command the audience’s attention is a knockout performance from Powley as Cherry. Cherry’s role within the trio is firmly on the outskirts and yet the viewers gaze is drawn towards her even when she has nothing to say. Her turn as Cherry could easily be seen as this decade’s Alabama Worley. The rest of the film also feeling very much like a modern day version of True Romance, just minus the romance part.
Sliding Doors meets True Romance in this smartly made, glossy, crime, neo-noir thriller. Detour is a welcome return to form for Smith.
Detour screened as part of Frightfest Glasgow 2017.
