Co-writer/co-star/director Lane Tolan’s and co-writer Jaclyn Betham’s thriller, Getaway, will soon premiere on DVD and digital from indie distributors Uncork’d Entertainment. This timberland terror begins as a fun girls trip but climaxes at a cabin in the woods in gruesome ways, offering a well-paced jaunt through hostage horror, witchcraft, and religious cultism. Some femme fatale elements give a fresh take on the kidnap-horror genre, and its solid cast made Getaway enjoyable, despite holding back on the terror.

Getaway follows Tamara (Landry Allbright), who hits the road to join her two friends for a weekend at a lakeside cabin, but soon, her car runs out of gas. Two brothers come to her aid with a spare canister of gasoline, however, she must politely turn down their sexual advances. When Tamara finally reaches her friends they decide to enjoy the evening out at a local bar, but when she is separated from them, Tamara finds herself in a fight for her life with some dangerously backward strangers.

For a backcountry kidnapping horror movie, Getaway is shot in an uncharacteristically beautiful way for this particular brand of horror. If you are expecting something down and dirty à la Texas Chainsaw Massacre or I Spit on Your Grave, you will instead be pleasantly surprised with a well-made, layered indie thriller. Getaway‘s cinematography is picture-perfect, and in fact, its style is actually a little too clean for my taste. The film was missing the gritty, heart-pounding, base violence that creates the abject terror so satisfying to me from backwoods slasher flicks.

The lack of horror must be because, at the heart of this film, Getaway plays out more like a revenge thriller. It is like an icy, femme-fatale-glare sending #MeToo beams that stare down the proverbial male gaze. The plot twists that lead me to this conclusion were so rampant and came from out of nowhere as the plot unfolded that, at times, it felt as though the movie was lying to me, narratively, but then the movie would reveal yet another twist. Luckily, it all kept making more sense as it gunned its way towards its finale.

Getaway is a film that mixes themes to make an entertaining, statement-making film that is successful thanks to its casting, cinematography, and bold narrative. Though there are some definite plot holes and the film was not so satisfying on the terror/horror front, the introduction of these different elements — the witchcraft, the kidnapping, the revenge, the vigilantism — made Getaway an interesting watch overall.  This sometimes uncomfortable thriller can soon be watched from the comfort of your home when it becomes available on DVD and streaming services April 14th.

MOVIE RATING — 7 out of 10 ☠️