Death Trip Review: A Stylish Suspenseful Trip

Release date: February 16, 2021
Running time: 102 minutes
Stars: Kelly Kay, Tatyana Olal,  Garrett Johnson, Melina Trimarchi, Zoe Slobodzian, Bruce Watts, and Brad MacDonald
Directed By: James Watts
Written By: James Watts and Kelly Watts

Four friends take a cottage trip in the dead of winter. During their stay, they discover dark details about the neighboring cottagers. After one of the friends is found mutilated, the group worries they're being targeted by angry locals.

Death Trip gets a lot of the components of good horror spot on.  The film has a wonderful suspenseful start that lets you meet all the characters and introduce you to some of the stranger situations in the movie.  And this start and the film are made all the more disturbing by some truly great sound.  The film has a classic horror feel with perfectly timed instrumental notes when the tension needs to be ratcheted up.  On top of this, the film uses natural creaks and groans to put you on edge when you are wondering what will happen next.  The sound combines with some wonderful suspenseful camera work that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Smart shots and use of light make it so you are always wondering what is just off screen or outside the beam of light.  These scenes are frankly stunning in how suspenseful and well composed they are.  It really shows the level of talent that this indie film had behind it.  The entire composition of the film seems designed to put you on edge and I loved it. 

It is important that Death Trip lets you meet all the characters early on because the film tells the story in an out of order manner, meaning that you will see consequences and later situations that the characters put themselves into.  However, it is often unclear if these are premonitions, flash forwards, or dream sequences.  They are unsettling and suspenseful, but I just could never tell what was part of the story and what was not.  And the story itself seems inconsistent.  It started off very strong, then dragged in the middle as the story caught up tot he wonderful premonitions / flashbacks at the start, then ramped it up in the end.  But the ending also left something to be desired.  I appreciated the desire to have a twist and catch the viewer by surprise, but it felt like it came out of nowhere with little explanation or justification.  But I have to hand it to this team and their excellent horror composition.  Death Trip has so many great components to it that I can forgive a few issues with the story.

Death Trip's suspenseful sound and wonderful use of light and camera will keep you on edge throughout this ill fated vacation. 

Rent it.

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Death Trip is available digitally and on demand February 16, 2021.

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.