Writer: Jaclyn Betham, Lane Toran (Screenplay)
Starring: Jaclyn Betham, Scout Taylor-Compton, Landry Allbright, Lane Toran, Noah Lowdermilk, Jamil Walker Smith
Plot: Tamara Miller has planned a weekend lake getaway with her lifelong two best friends. When she gets kidnapped by a backwoods cult, eerie and unexplained occurrences arise. Will she make it out alive or become the treasure of these deranged lunatics?
Runtime: 1 Hour 16 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Nice Twist of Abduction Horror
Story: Getaway starts as Tamara (Betham) is joining her two best friends Maddy (Taylor-Compton) and Brooke (Allbright) for a girls weekend at a lake house, as they look to party, Tamara finds herself abducted by Merv (Toran), Kib (Lowdermilk) and Pa (Caudell) who look to do the lord’s work, only things start to spiral out of control when Tamara claims to be a witch, summoning the previous victims to get their revenge on the men.
Thoughts on Getaway
Characters – Tamara is the friend that arrives last to the lake house, she is in the middle of a maybe relationship with a police officer, but for now is looking for a weekend with friends, drinks and party. The first night she gets taken by some men, with her survival plan to pretend to be a witch, and use the men’s beliefs to get the upper hand on them. Maddy and Brooke are the two best friends that are here to enjoy a party as they go in search for their friend. Merv, Kib and Pa are the men that take Tamara, they believe they are doing the Lord’s work and have been doing for a long time.
Performances – Jaclyn Betham in the leading role is the strongest part of the film, she keeps her character strong despite the situation she is in. When it comes to Scout Taylor-Compton and Landry Allbright, they are solid in the supporting roles without needing to do as much as Jaclyn. The rest of the cast fill the roles you are expecting from their characters with ease.
Story – The story here follows three friends that go on a girls trip, only to find one abducted by locals that have been taken women for years for the lord’s work. This is a story that does seem to be going down a generic direction, only for it to take a big turn and feeling a lot fresher that it seemed like it would. Both the villainous figures and Tamara are created to be a lot deeper than a lot of horrors, with motivations for what is happening. This is a smart story for horror, one that should be enjoyed by all.
Horror – The horror in this film comes from what the men want to do to Tamara, only to spin the hauntings onto all the characters.
Settings – The film takes us to the off the track location, to show how the lunatics are operating where they can’t be caught.
Special Effects – The effects are the used to show injuries with hauntings happening too.
Scene of the Movie – 16 seconds.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Officer Jerry’s involvement in the search.
Final Thoughts – This is a smart horror that does a spin what we might have been expected well to give us something fresh to enjoy.
Overall: Fresh Spin Horror.