Director: Lodewijk Crijns
Writer: Lodewijk Crijns (Screenplay)
Starring: Jeroen Spitzenberger, Anniek Pheifer, Roosmarijn van der Heok, Liz Vergeer, Willem de Wolf
Plot: A cocksure, road-raging family man finds himself pursued and terrorized by the vengeful van driver he chooses to tailgate.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Tailgate starts as we meet a family, Hans (Spitzenberger), Diana (Pheifer), Milou (Hoek) and Robine (Vergeer) that are traveling across Holland to spend time with a grandparent, Hans does have a problem with road rage, which will see him get caught up in problems on the road, until he gets caught behind a van in the fast lane.
When Hans lets his road rage get the best of him, he starts tailgating a van, the driver Ed (de Wolf) doesn’t take to kindly to being treated this way and looks to terrorise the family.
Thoughts on Tailgate
Characters – Hans is the father that does suffer from road rage, he doesn’t have much patience with things in life, which will see him getting involved in confrontations he doesn’t need too, his latest one, is one that will see him insight a serial killer, he must learn a lesson about how to treat people, while trying to keep his family safe. Diana is the wife who isn’t happy with Hans action when he speeds or gets involved when he doesn’t need to, while Milou and Robine are the two children that are like most kids, fighting between them, but together when they need to be. Ed is the van driver that uses his weapon of choice to hunt down people he believes wrongs him on the road, his is an imposing presence on screen, being the killer that could strike fear into his victims.
Performances – Jeroen Spitzenberger as the father with road rage does seem to have the most to do, with him being more of the target, Willem de Wolf does have a cold disturbing performance where his on screen presence is easily the most terrifying thing about the movie.
Story – The story here follows a family that are traveling to see a relative, when they get involved in a moment of road rage, which will see a killer come hunting for them, in what will become a cat-n-mouse battle. This is a story that will look very similar to ‘Unhinged’ from earlier this year, obviously this one was made first, but it will see an unstable man looking to get revenge on someone who gave them road rage, it does show how Hans isn’t the cleanest cut person either, seeing him do thing which could upset over drivers. We don’t seem to get the motivation behind Ed’s actions which works in two ways, first he will become more of a threat and secondly you will feel like you want to understand more.
Horror – The horror in this film comes from knowing what Ed would do to his potential victims, everything happens in daylight, which adds a different level of horror to everything we are watching unfold.
Settings – The film takes place on the road, it shows how people can lose control behind the wheel, showing there isn’t safety if you feel the wrath of someone on the road.
Scene of the Movie – The chase through the housing area.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of motivation.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun cat-n-mouse style horror, that puts the family up against a killer who will do anything to get his own way back, it isn’t an intense as it could be, but the weapon of choice feels slow and methodical.
Signature Entertainment presents Tailgate on Digital HD 26th October
