Synopsis
Stranded on an isolated desert road, two life-long friends fight for survival as their already strained relationship spirals into knife-wielding madness.
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Cast
- Josh DuhamelMitchell
- Dan FoglerCarter
- Miracle LaurieJoanne
- Christie BursonAnnie
- Peter Michael GoetzOld Man
- Jamie DonovanTow Truck Driver
- Ethan MaherCole
Recommendations
- 75
USA Today
It's no "Taxi Driver" or even "Open Water," but Route has enough attractions to warrant the trip. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
The movie becomes a survival tale and is more successful in its grueling, slightly crazed second half. The Goetzes do a better job capturing the terrain's physical extremes and the challenge of endurance than they do depicting a relationship. - 60
Village Voice
Kevin and Michael Goetz's direction emphasizes the remoteness of the setting. The howl of the desert wind and the unflagging hammer of the sun are the backdrop for every bad decision, lending them a plausibility they wouldn't have in comfort. - 50
The Dissolve
Duhamel and Fogler play off each other nicely in the early going... The arguments and contrasting worldviews are banal, but the relationship feels genuine. - 50
The Playlist
For Scenic Route, it doesn’t seem to be the journey as much as the destination: seeing two sorta-friends wailing on each other feels like the shortcut a better movie never made. - 40
New York Daily News
The first half of Scenic Route is basically a filmed play, and not an insightful one. The more surreal second half takes on a moodier edge, but the switcheroo ending is cutesy to the point of annoying. Fogler impresses with some brooding edge, but neither he nor the location photography is enough to recommend you join him on this doomed trip. - 30
Los Angeles Times
While the narrative spins in place, Kyle Killen's script throws out one uninspired gambit after another to extend the film to feature length, eventually climaxing with dual endings, both contrived. - 25
San Francisco Chronicle
Sometimes indie pictures like this, with over-the-top acting and outrageous situations, are meant as a calling card for its creators - a chance to show their wares to others in the industry. So calling all producers, there is one tour-de-force performance in Scenic Route: the makeup team of Brian Kinney, Sara Robey and Maia Wagle. Admire their work, and bring earplugs.
