Toad Road (2012)

Updated: On this fine, cold, snowy, icy, February 15th, 2014,  I would like to point out, since my point may have been missed, that the real life death of the lead is not more incentive to see this film, but it has turned this film into a weird sort of metafiction. Also, this day has brought to us the inclusion of a link to a review by the person I heavily quoted. His blog is much better for movie reviews than mine, except for this entry, and a few others where I talk about movies. 

Visit him here: For It Is Man's Number 

Update: Yet another person I spent time with in prison has reviewed this film. 

Visit him here: Horror 101 w/Dr. A.C.

I hate writing movie reviews, unless it's a film I absolutely cannot live without. This is not one of those cases, so I'll be brief. Toad Road is a psychedelic horror film, one that uses characters on drugs, a few bad-trip moments, a real urban legend involving the pursuit of the Seven Gates of Hell, and then leaves you with either an unsettling ending, or an unsattisfying one, depending on what you're looking for. If you're tired of seeing trip movies shot by people who have only heard wild stories of LSD weekends, this one has a much more accurate portrayal. If you've ever seen the Harmony Korine and Larry Clark film, Kids (1995), imagine that meets Marble Hornets, but involving a lot of drugs and haunting atmosphere. It's only 75 minutes, so it's not much of a commitment, but be warned that the majority of people hated it.

While nowhere near a perfect film, my friends started heavily bashing it, with one claiming that it was "one of the bigger pieces of shit I have watched on Netflix in recent months." He didn't actually write about it, so I'll not waste my time linking to his less popular blog. When I made the comment that the star had died from an overdose, he responded, "Her death from drugs means I have to entirely re-evaluate my opinion of the movie. Wait, no, it's still a piece of dogshit." The thing is, I respect his opinion on films and agree with most of what he reviews, so I was baffled why it was hated so much. Because of this, I figured maybe the reason I liked it was because I heard the story of the lead actress, Sara Anne Jones, long before the film was released. Naturally, I forgot all about the damn thing until the hate came, but having reread the same article and then watched the film, I rather enjoyed it and hope you do, too.

1. Start by reading this 

article about the female lead.

2. If you've never done hallucinogens, 

read this article next (otherwise, skip it or do drugs).

3. Read the Wiki page about the Seven Gates of Hell.

4. Watch the movie, or if you're still 

waiting around for some odd reason and 

you're a metal fan, listen to this video.