Okay
kids, the lesson here is hard to miss. Just say no to carpooling. If these six
college students had been caravanning instead, they would have had much more
cover and there would have been a good chance one of their cars would have made
it through the serial killer sniper’s ambush. One of them is a former Army
brat, so at least she understands what they are dealing with, but she has no
way to return fire in Ryûhei Kitamura’s Downrange
(trailer
here),
which premieres exclusively today on Shudder.
There
is the Army brat, a married couple (or engaged or whatever), the good-looking
guy, the token minority, and the one with the heart-tugging younger sister. The
mystery shooter will be using them all for target practice, but Kitamura’s
quite effectively builds the suspense as we wait for the first kill. Soon three
of them are huddled behind the car (fortunately its actually an SUV, the only
responsible they’ve made), while another is cowering behind a tree stump.
Needless
to say, this is an impossibly quiet stretch of road. However, it is not a
closed system. More grist for the mill will inevitably come ambling along and
even the cops will eventually get in on the act, but as the late R. Lee Ermey
would say, the mystery man will definitely show just what one motivated sniper
and his rifle can do.
Basically,
there is no character development to speak of in Downrange. They are just interchangeable victims. As a slightly
spoilery warning, viewers should also expect the lamest cheat of an ending we
have maybe ever seen in horror movie—ever. However, we have to admit Kitamura
maintains a visceral, claustrophobic sense of tension during the heart of the film.
Plus,
there is the gore, which is either the film’s greatest asset or grossest sin,
depending on your tastes and preferences. Naturally, the shooter uses vintage
rounds that really tear through the flesh. This should come as no surprise,
since goriness has always been Kitamura’s specialty.