Wrecker is American slang for tow truck
Wrecker
Cast: Anna Hutchison, Andrea Whitburn, Jennifer Koenig
Director: Michael Bafaro
Rating: 2 stars
Wrecker is American slang for tow truck. One such truck, carrying a Red Family car, is the star of this film, a thriller/horror film set across a vast American highway. Emily (Anna Hutchison, The Cabin in the Woods) and Leslie (Andrea Whitburn) are having a relaxing drive in their bright red Ford Mustang GT. They discuss friendships, boyfriends and their careers when they come across this anonymous tow truck. It guzzles diesel across the highway, barely responds to signals and all of a sudden it tries to kill the film’s heroines. This leads to a tense and furious cat-and-mouse chase as the girls constantly stay a step ahead of the almost inhuman tow-truck.
Michael Bafaro’s Wrecker is a remake of Duel, the 1971 made for TV cult classic that was Steven Spielberg’s film debut. Wrecker is different on many counts however. Instead of the middle-aged male protagonist of Spielberg’s film, we have two American young women, essentially the cast of a teen horror film. But more importantly and crucially is the visual dynamics. Duel took place in a huge desert area and rocky landscape.
Wrecker is set in green highways and, as such, the sense of isolation in the vast plain is not as keenly felt here as in Duel. Wrecker occasionally uses some interesting shots but on the whole this is an inferior film and a weak example of the horror/slasher genre. It feels more dated than the 1971 Spielberg film and it’s unsuccessful as both an action and a horror film. The writer is programmer, Lightcube Film Society
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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