Zzyzx (2007)

                    Zzyzx                   

NETFLIX SYNOPSIS:  Out in the middle of nowhere, on a remote desert road, the lives of three people are forever changed in this sinister tale. Heading to Vegas, Lou (Kenny Johnson) and Ryan (Ryan Fox) take a detour onto Zzyzx Road, a supposed hangout for extra-terrestrials. But as they drive along searching for Martians and Klingons, they accidentally hit a man and must find a way to dispose of his body. Their problems only increase when the man’s wife shows up.

Director: Richard Halpern

Cast: Robyn Cohen, Kenny Johnson, Ryan Fox, Kayo Zepeda, Richard Halpern

REVIEW: Wow!  The little indie that could!  I don’t even think this film made it to theaters (maybe one), which is one of the reasons why I decided to write this review, because you’ll be hardpressed to find another.  (If memory serves, I think I only heard about this film through the notoriety it received by being distributed to only one theater.)  The other reason is because it was unexpectedly good!  When I find a diamond in the rough (especially when I have low expectations, make that very low expectations with NF’s guesstimating my rating at 2 stars), I get very, very smiley- happy-people and very, very verbose, more so than usual.

I kept this on my Q through thick and thin b/c the premise sounded interesting and because of the smattering of really strong NF reviews in the midst of plenty of unfavorable ones (disregard these – they must have been on the “super ‘shrooms” that Lou passed out in the film).  Plus, hailing from CA, I am very familiar with this road, the all-consonant road that I’ve passed by countless times on the I-15 heading to Vegas.  I was never curious about it, and seeing films like Breakdown and Texas Chainsaw Massacre solidified that lack of curiosity, providing plenty of fodder to dissuade me from driving down a road that looks like it takes you to nowhere.

The film grabbed me immediately with its innovative opening credits
(not since Napoleon Dynamite have I seen something so creative, and the film was probably made for way less than ND!) – blink and you’ll “miss the signs.” 😉  You follow two friends (using the term loosely, as does the film) on the way to Vegas: Ryan, the geeky, introverted friend, wants to pull off on Zzyzx road to check out the location of some unexplained murders that he’s been researching. Lou, the hotheaded, testosterone-reeking macho man, reluctantly obliges, though you get the sense throughout that he’s indulging him patronizingly, like a “special needs” kid brother.

Trouble ensues when, by a series of unfortuitous events, the car driven by Lou hits a man on the otherwise completely abandoned, forsaken road, killing him.  As they’re yelling and screaming at each other (amusingly to me) as to what to do and who’s an idiot for running him over, they see a figure coming up on the horizon.  Having no choice, they hastily stash the body in the backseat and cover him up with a blanket.  Turns out, the figure is the man’s wife – she’s looking for him and explains that their RV stalled and that he was going for help.  From there on, the plot really thickens and I’ll leave you to see the film so you can see the crazy results.

So there’s some stilted dialogue at the beginning – the actors really hit their stride, especially the female actor – she was really, really good!  The gritty look and feel of the film perfectly conveys the 100+ degree heat in the Mojave desert, bearing down oppressively on the three main characters, their consciences and actions.

One great thing about the storyline is that the film really focuses in on this trio of characters, only occasionally losing its focus to intersperse scenes of some tramautic event while Lou was serving in Afghanistan, ostensibly the reason for him being a bit nuts, and the naked lady cultish scenes with Ryan, ostensibly the reason for him becoming increasingly unhinged.  So these scenes are unnecessary and provide a loose rationale for the plot – I recognized it, but it didn’t impact one iota how entertained I was by Zzyzx.

And for a film that was probably made nearly gratis, the DVD is chock-a-block with special features, including interviews with each cast member and the director, and the director attempting his way down the Exorcist steps and eating it on the way down (hey, it’s difficult holding a camera and trying to navigate those steep steps!). Interestingly, the director comments that he wanted to make a thriller that is powered by dialogue (rare nowadays), not just special effect after action sequence after shooting after special effect.  In fact, he mentions that he wanted to do something Hitchcockian and likens this film to Hitchcock’s Rope.  I haven’t gotten to Rope yet so I can’t compare the two, but the film creates and holds the suspense quite successfully – the suspense of whether the woman, who has happened innocently upon Ryan and Lou to request help, will find out that that’s her husband in the backseat of their car, and what happens to her if she does!

The ending is a bit bloody, but I would not classify this as a horror film.  It’s a bona fide thriller, a smartly unpredictable, satisfying and entertaining thriller at that.  Good times all ’round.

3.5 stars
Audrey