Now available on DVD!
Cast:
Laura Breckenridge as Mary
Kevin Corrigan as Timothy
Chris Shand as Rick
Megan Anderson as Jane
Directed by Enda McCallion
Review:
In 2001, Texas woman Chante Mallard hit a homeless man with her car. He ended up embedded in her windshield. After arriving home she left him there and eventually he died. Mallard later told the police that she repeatedly went out to the garage and apologized to the man, but she never did anything to help him. If this sounds familiar that is because it is the basis for Stuart Gordonâs Stuck. It also inspired Hit and Run, the debut feature of Enda McCallion.
Mary (Laura Breckenridge) is a college student partying with friends during Spring Break. After being cajoled into doing one more shot, Mary decides that she has had enough. Exhausted, she heads home. While driving through an isolated area she briefly swerves off the road. Startled, but okay, Mary composes herself and drives the rest of the way home.
Finally asleep, something wakes her up. Rather, someone wakes up. Upon entering the garage Mary discovers a man stuck to the front of her Jeep. He is hurt badly, bleeding all over the place. She nearly calls 911 but decides against it. When the man grabs her leg, Mary completely loses it. She grabs a nearby golf club and finishes what she started (or so she thinks).
While it is not stunningly original, revealing much more would do a disservice to the viewer. Hit and Run does not go exactly where you expect it to and has a surprise or two up its sleeve. That and the short running time, 80 minutes without credits, make certain that oneâs attention never wavers. McCallion also does an effective job handling the bloodletting. There is almost no gore, but this is not that kind of movie. McCallion is aiming for something true to life, something that could (and did) happen to anyone. Therefore, when the red stuff does flow, it is all the more potent.
Unfortunately, in other ways, Hit and Run plays like a debut. It is very rough around the edges. Scenes intended to shock are handled poorly. Often they are cut too quickly and you donât get a chance to react the way you are supposed to. In a few instances people respond to a serious situation in a highly unrealistic manner, which hurts a movie striving for a certain degree of realism.
The directing is too gimmicky as well. McCallion goes overboard with washes, split screens, shaky cam, extreme close-ups and quick cutting. It contradicts the mood he seems to be going for.
The lack of an even remotely sympathetic protagonist is also a problem. Mary is selfish and not too bright. It is impossible to feel the full gravity of her situation because we are given no reason to care about her fate. Breckenridge does not help matters by giving a one-note performance, essentially hysteria from start to finish. The Departedâs Corrigan, however, is excellent as the victim. His role is small but he makes a lasting impression.
Hit and Run ends on a strong note and there is a provocative, messed up movie somewhere in here. It is terrifying to imagine walking into your garage and seeing someone impaled on your vehicle as a result of your behavior. That is the stuff of nightmares. The potential horror of that is not exploited as it should be. The effort is there, but the execution never matches it. Hit and Run ends up being an interesting disappointment.
