‘Hallow Road’ Review: A Confined Car Ride That Spirals Into Madness

ReviewsSXSWFilm FestivalFilmNew MovieEntertainment NewsHorrorThrillerPremiereMovie PremiereMoviesActorsDirectorsThe Cinema GroupOpinion

Mar 14

Written By Jonathan P. Moustakas

A pulse-pounding thriller that starts as a gripping family drama before hurtling into uncharted cinematic territory.

Few films manage to lull an audience into a sense of security before completely pulling the rug out from under them. Babak Anvari’s Hallow Road is one of those rare experiences—an unrelenting, tension-fueled thriller that begins as a stripped-down domestic drama before twisting itself into a nightmarish, feverish descent into something else entirely. It’s a movie that defies categorization, using the claustrophobic setting of a single vehicle to slowly erode reality, upending its own premise with audacity and precision.

Anchored by powerhouse performances from Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys, Hallow Road weaponizes minimalism, setting up a deeply personal story of familial strife and turning it into a relentless, paranoia-driven thriller. With a structure reminiscent of Locke but a narrative that eventually veers into territory closer to The Twilight Zone, this is a film that refuses to play by any familiar rules. Instead, it traps its audience in the backseat of a slow-burning nightmare, where every conversation and every decision leads further into chaos.

A Ticking Time Bomb of a Story

From its opening moments, Hallow Road establishes itself as a lean, high-stakes thriller. Maddie (Pike), a paramedic emotionally worn thin by years of tragedy, and her husband Frank (Rhys), a calculating, logical problem-solver, receive a frantic call from their teenage daughter Alice (voiced by Megan McDonnell). She’s been in an accident, stranded on an isolated backroad after hitting a young girl with her car. The girl is alive but fading fast. Maddie and Frank’s only option is to guide Alice through the crisis while they race toward her location—one hour away.

What unfolds is a masterclass in tension, as the couple—trapped within the confines of their car—attempts to keep Alice calm, instruct her on administering life-saving care, and determine how to handle the authorities. The film thrives on the intimacy of its setup, using every glance between Pike and Rhys to deepen our understanding of their fractured marriage. Their conversation isn’t just about the accident—it’s about the years of guilt, regret, and resentment bubbling beneath the surface, all of which threatens to boil over before they even reach their daughter.

Then, The Unthinkable Happens

For much of its runtime, Hallow Road feels like a devastatingly grounded drama, held together by Kit Fraser’s stark cinematography and Anvari’s meticulous direction. The film’s first half is bathed in warm, grainy 16mm, lending it a raw, almost documentarian feel. But the moment Maddie and Frank step into their car and begin their drive, the aesthetic shifts dramatically—the warm tones replaced with a cold, digital sheen. It’s a subtle but crucial shift, marking the moment the film begins its transformation.

Hints of something deeper lurk beneath the surface—strange, lingering camera movements, the eerie way headlights cut through the darkness, the occasional distortion of sound. The film is so immersive in its early realism that when it finally pulls the trigger on its narrative shift, it feels less like a twist and more like a revelation.

To say too much would rob Hallow Road of its impact, but suffice it to say that the film is not content to remain a grounded thriller. Instead, it evolves into something surreal, something deeply unsettling. What was once a tense family drama morphs into an existential nightmare, forcing Maddie and Frank to confront truths about their daughter, about themselves, and about the world around them that they may not be ready to face.

A Midnight Movie for the Ages

Anvari executes this shift with astonishing control, threading his narrative through both the psychological and supernatural, never tipping his hand too soon. The shift is immediate, jarring, and yet somehow completely earned. The final act is a labyrinth of paranoia and dread, twisting reality until it’s impossible to tell what’s real and what isn’t. It’s the kind of film that demands a second viewing, if only to pick apart the subtle clues littered throughout its first hour.

Thematically, Hallow Road explores the nature of guilt, the weight of parental responsibility, and the lengths to which we’ll go to rewrite our own stories. But on a visceral level, it’s pure nightmare fuel—a film that worms its way under your skin and lingers long after the credits roll. Pike and Rhys deliver some of the best work of their careers, their performances shifting alongside the film itself, grounding even the most surreal moments in raw, emotional truth.

POPULAR ON THE CINEMA GROUP

A Masterclass in Genre-Bending Storytelling

If Hallow Road has one flaw, it’s that its commitment to its setting occasionally limits its ability to fully embrace its more outlandish ideas. The film keeps much of its horror implied rather than seen, relying heavily on sound design and the reactions of its leads. While this adds to the tension, some audiences may find themselves wishing for a more explicit descent into madness.

But that’s a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things. What Anvari and his team have crafted is a wholly unique, daring piece of filmmaking—one that refuses to conform to expectations, one that lures you in with its simplicity before dragging you somewhere you never expected to go. It’s a film that plays best in the dead of night, the kind that leaves you staring into the dark long after it ends, wondering what exactly you just experienced.

For those willing to take the ride, Hallow Road is an unforgettable journey into the unknown.

RATING: ★★★★½

Hallow Road

Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Midnighter)
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Megan McDonnell
Director: Babak Anvari
Screenwriter: William Gillies
Run Time: 1 hour 20 minutes