Hallow Road
Frank and Maddie (Matthew Rhys and Rosmund Pike) are stewing in the aftermath of a heated argument with their 18-year-old daughter Alice (Megan McDonnell), which causes her to take her dad’s car and drive off into the night. Maddie then receives a distressing call from her daughter in the early hours of the morning informing her that she’s just run over a girl in the middle of the eponymous woodland road. The parents rush to their other car to assist, the paramedic mother coaching her child through what to do until an ambulance arrives on the scene. In only a few short minutes, director Babak Anvari manages to craft a sense of relentless urgency, which only intensifies as the couple drive down the darkened road in real time.
Set almost exclusively within the cramped confines of Maddie’s beat-up car, there’s an inescapable sensation of claustrophobia as the situation gradually escalates, revealing more details about what transpired that evening. Rhys and Pike are phenomenal throughout as their emotions transition from heightened states of panic, worry, anger and frustration. McDonell likewise gives a stellar performance. Although viewers only ever hear her voice, the terror and anguish that she conveys is palpable.
As the film approaches its halfway mark, events take an unexpected turn, shifting the genre from thriller to something that more closely resembles horror. With the only information about what’s happening to Alice being whatever is heard on the other end of the phone, the fear of the unknown takes hold as viewers are left to imagine what could be transpiring in the woods. The tension, which has already been building at a steady pace, moves into a higher gear at this point, resulting in a white-knuckled second half.
It’s during the latter portion where William Gillies’s screenplay truly comes into its own. Not a single word of dialogue is wasted between the characters. Each interaction builds upon the unravelling family drama that’s at the heart of this flick, touching upon themes of parenthood and privilege as it goes. Information gleaned from conversations about the area’s past (alongside a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of the date on Maddy’s phone) also gives some clues to the ordeal Alice is subjected to.
Culminating in a harrowingly sombre conclusion, Hallow Road is easily one of the best films of this year so far.
Andrew Murray
Hallow Road is released nationwide on 16th May 2025.
Watch the trailer for Hallow Road here:
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