Threshold

Road trips can be really fun, exhausting but also inspiring. I suppose it all depends on who you go on a road trip with, if it is with a family member, some friends, or some relative ( that you can not stand ). One of the best road trips i have ever done was the summer 0f 2004, when me, Sharon, John, and his two kids went all over Scotland. We started from Edinburgh and went all the way to the Highlands at Isle of Skye. We did stay at a Breakfast And Bed hotel, owned by one of Sharon´s family members, so we would start from there in the morning and walk on foot, on the fantastic Scottish Highlands. I still remember the amazing view we had, as we were standing on the top of one mountain, looking down at the Highlands. I remember in a small village, we were invited to a local pub where the owner found out i am from Sweden. Since he was a big fan of football player Henrik Larsson, he gave me a big drinking glass of whiskey and said:- This is on the house. I have never seen so much whiskey in a drinking glass before, it was the size of a big IKEA drinking glass, so you can imagine it was easy for me to get drunk. We hiked on the Highlands for a few days, until we started packing up to go back to Edinburgh, but on the way back we took a different road, so we could stop at some other well known Scottish locations. This road trip in Scotland is one of the road trips i will never forget, because the company i had on this trip was so fun, and we all had a good time on this journey. I also remember playing the Swedish artist Gunther feauturing The Sunshine Girls on CD in the car, as everyone started singing along to Ding Dong Song ( one of the greatest Swedish summer song classics ). Speaking of road trips, there are several really good films that takes place during a road trip. One of my personal favourite films in this genre, is the Australian horror film Wolf Creek from 2005. This film tells the story of two British tourists, Liz Hurley ( Cassandra Magrath ) and Kristy Earl ( Kestir Morassi ) who are backpacking across the country with their Australian friend Ben Mitchell ( Nathan Phillips ). They have no idea, that the man they meet  known as Mick Taylor ( John Jarrat ), is a sadistic serial killer. Wolf Creek is a very brutal and well made horror film, that is a must see, especially if you love films about serial killers. The performance of John Jarrat definetely helps this film work so well. Definetely worth picking up on DVD or Blu Ray. I have been hearing some positive reviews about a film called Threshold, that is supposed to be a road trip film. Since i am a fan of this genre, is Threshold a positive surprise, or should you skip this one and watch something else?

Leo ( Joey Millin ) gets a call from his mother, who is worried about his sister Virginia ( Madison West ), and ask him to go check on her. Leo knows his sister history of struggling with a drug addiction. He finds her in really bad shape, but in just a short while, she seems fine again. He finds out that she have been cursed by a sinister religious cult. A bonding ritual performed on her, was said to help with her addiction. But something happened to Virginia as she was a part of this cult, that affect her, and Leo agree to go on a road trip with Virginia, to confront her past from the religious cult.

I am always open minded to watch films that tries to tell the struggles between a sister and a brother, especially when one of them are addicted to drugs. In this case it is the sister, while the brother have promised to take care of her. Knowing how addiction works ( i lost a dear friend of mine in the summer of 2010 in a drug overdose, so i know how bad things can end, not being able to save him ), i feel that this film manage to capture the addiction through the character Virginia. We have to talk about the two main characters, and since i mentioned Virginia, let us begin with actress Madison West ( who can be seen in the David Fincher film Mank, on Netflix ). I really feel that she is trying to portrait a young woman, who is struggling with her addiction, but also with her mental issues. Madison manage to bring those emotions out in her performance. Actor Joe Millin who plays the brother of Madison, also manage to bring a performance that match this story. The road trip with these characters bring some interesting discussions, and of course some problems as well, especially when Madison is trying to deal with her past in a religious cult. I have to mention that this is definetely a film for independent film fans, who appreciate a film that is more focused on telling an old fashioned story, and not focusing on following any trends. Does the religious cult part of this film work, outside of the road trip? I would say that this is where the film really get interesting, and i would have liked to see a little bit more of the cult. I have to mention the great looking cinematography by Powell Robinson, who manage to capture the American landscape really well. Directors Powell Robinson and Patrick Robert Young have made a film that does not only show how addiction works, but also give a glimpse of the danger of religious cult in an effective way. Threshold is definetely worth checking out, i suggest you pick up the Blu Ray from Arrow Video.

Rating: DDD