‘Roadkill’ (2024) Hits The Highway With A New Take On Hitchhiker Horror

In the terrifying world of horror movies, hitchhikers often become the storyline’s unsolicited bringer of doom, thumbing their way into tales of terror and potential gore. These wandering figures, seeking a ride to who knows where in particular can unknowingly invite complete chaos into the lives of the kind, yet unsuspecting driver willing to be a “Good Samaritan” and help a stranger get to where they need to go. 

It’s quite the macabre dance of chance on the scary yet desolate highways where every ride could lead to a spine-tingling detour into an unknown situation that can ruin someone’s life. Hitchhikers in most horror movies are like that ominous lottery ticket you want to pick up – you might win the jackpot of fear, or you may just end up as a passenger on the expressway to a hellish nightmare. In the world of horror movies, the road less traveled is rarely a humble scenic route. It’s just a journey that can lead into the heart of a dark plot leading to some of the most realistic and terrifying moments in horror cinema. 

Recently we got the chance to watch the hitchhiking horror movie ‘Roadkill’. This movie stars Caitlin Carmichael, Danielle Harris, Ryan Knudson, Warren Fast, and Trenton Hudson. The movie is written and directed by Warren Fast. The synopsis for this movie is as follows:

“Lost while traveling through a rural country in 1983, a young woman crosses paths with a hitchhiker headed towards the same destination and offers a ride in exchange for directions. Their journey takes a violent turn when the two are caught up in a police manhunt for a fugitive killer. As victims begin to amass and authorities close in, it becomes a fight for survival on the open road.”

The story of this movie has a lot going on with it. The twists and turns for it are not just left for the open road the main characters The Driver (portrayed by Caitlin Carmichael) and The Hitchhiker (portrayed by Ryan Knudson) take. The extent of the story revolves around a lot of childhood trauma back story for both characters such as physical abuse, mental abuse, and much more terrifying things. There is a scene in the beginning that really sets up the psychological trauma that The Hitchhiker gets as a child from his sadistic mother (portrayed by Christina R. Gregg) that really is shocking for the first 5 minutes of the movie that sticks with you throughout the entire runtime. The Driver gets her time to go over her traumatic childhood and it is no better (mainly worse) when you hear what happens to her. 

The movie really wants to humanize the villains of the movie, which in some aspects people can. They are people who had unfortunate childhoods that left them scarred, and tortured. The movie wants you to see from their perspective why they need to lash out at anyone who triggers their PTSD. It is obvious pretty early with the way The Driver kills very quickly while the main characters are at a restaurant taking a break from their odd road trip. While the story is very intense, some of the kills in this movie are pretty gruesome. 

There are a couple of particular kills that stand out while you are watching this movie, even much so that they stick with you a little bit after the end credits (and not to spoil anything but there is a nice post-credit scene as well). There is one in a restaurant that starts into a pretty choreographed fight scene that turns into a head-stomping gore fest. Another great and gorey kill in this movie that was very enjoyable is in a police station which starts with someone getting handcuffed on the ground and then leads to part of someone’s face being bitten off. It came out of nowhere and was a pretty damn good effect that was used. 

While the story seems well written, the movie seems well shot, there are some things we wish were a bit different. Considering the fact that this movie has a run time of 90 minutes, it feels quite rushed. You feel that you go from the child abuse back story, The Driver and The Hitchhiker meeting to the insane road trip story that quickly unfolds. There have been many people who have said that a good movie tends to go faster than anticipated. That is true, but it doesn’t seem to apply here. The story goes by so fast, we get Danielle Harris (most known for her performances in the ‘Halloween’ movies and her podcast with co-star Scout Taylor Compton called ‘Talk Scary To Me’. ) as a waitress in the restaurant scenes which is nice, but having that big of a horror powerhouse in your movie makes us feel that she was a little underutilized. In all fairness, that is only being said due to how much we enjoy her work. 

Roadkill is a good horror movie that has at least a few scenes that stay with you and may prompt a rewatch. It has moments that will keep you glued to the screen and for that, it is something you should give a chance and enjoy for yourself.

‘Roadkill’ from Uncork’d Entertainment is now available in select theaters and available on VOD. Turn down the lights, get some popcorn, and get ready to hit the open road with this new horror movie. 

Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.