“Dead End” (2003) is one of the most efficiently budgeted Christmas horror films out there, but luckily it’s not a dead end of entertainment. Balancing horror with comedy is always tricky, but the writer-director duo of Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa – in their first and most notable credit – do a fine job. They’re gifted with a strong cast, which is where most of the budget must’ve gone.
The nightmare of holiday travel
The film understands the funny and stressful sides of holiday family travel. The Harrington family has left a little late for Christmas Eve dinner at the grandparents’ house. Husband and wife Frank and Laura (Ray Wise and Lin Shaye) trade irritated barbs.
In the backseat, Richard (Mick Cain) buries himself in his headphones, emerging only to deliver insults at his sister’s boyfriend Brad (Billy Asher), while sister Marion (Alexandra Holden) is feeling carsick. Still, there are nice moments, like when Laura gets them all singing carols.
“Dead End” (2003)
Directors: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Writers: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Stars: Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain
As is always the case with horror-comedies, the scares can’t pierce the protective veil of comedy, even though the lost-in-the-backwoods setup is in the classic mode of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Wrong Turn.” Tension and mystery emerge, but after a few instances of horror that we’re not supposed to take with utter seriousness, only the mystery remains.
Not so short shortcut
As they drive along what Frank thinks will be a shortcut (I’ll say one thing for it – the traffic is light), a Lady in White (Amber Smith) appears on the roadside, holding a baby and not speaking a word. We get the sense that the family is traveling long distances, but Andrea and Canepa likely shot the bulk of the film in a small area.
“Dead End” gets by on the veteran timing of Wise (“Twin Peaks”) and Shaye (“Insidious”). Holden (“Drop Dead Gorgeous”) is also great at this type of quirky dark comedy. Everyone is game, but I also got a sense that this couldn’t go on forever without getting irksome – despite the narrative’s emerging closed-loop fatalism.
The story seems to write itself into a dead end, but there’s a positive aspect: After enough craziness piles up, anything could happen next. The conclusion cleverly caught me off guard (although as twists go, you might say this is a common one). I might’ve seen it coming if there was no comedy, but the dark humor distracted me.
Not that I’d necessarily want it to be realistic. So much tragedy happens to the family that the film would be an unwatchable well of grief if it didn’t put its tongue in its cheek. Still, since it’s not serious in its emotions, it might’ve been nice if it was serious about saying one fresh thing about Christmas or family or filmmaking.
As good as the actors are, and as clever as its budget-maximization is, “Dead End” lacks something extra to make it stand out among Christmas horror-comedies. It’s a one-viewing tale – chocolates in your stocking rather the star atop your tree.