The Curse of Buckout Road follows a college class, whose project on the destruction of modern myth turns deadly when a trio of students discover that a series of horrific urban legends surrounding New York state’s famed Buckout Road may actually be true.
The Curse of Buckout Road was definitely a film that surmounted my expectations. I was angry tapping on my keyboard during the opening act; hating on the music, dissing the tropes, laughing at the parallels to those cheesy-but-awesome 90’s horrors…I was far from impressed and genuinely disinterested. I’m really glad that I stuck it out though.
Yes, all of those above issues did exist in the first few acts, but the film grows with each scene thereafter. There’s surprisingly good character development, decent lore, complex personas, and a compelling backstory. Real planning went into the twists and turns throughout the script—twists usually difficult to pull off but here executed really well. I was expecting a vapid, popcorn horror film and got a more than I bargained for.
While definitely a surprise hit for me, there are some things we obviously need to address. Firstly, Danny Glover—while definitely in the film—has more of an Executive Decision role rather than that of the main character, which the start of the films leads us to believe. This is not necessarily a negative; Aaron Powell as Evan and Dominique Provost-Chalkley as Cloe are both amazing leads and had stellar performances…so while I was looking forward to a little more Glover, I really can’t complain.
*minor spoilers ahead*
The film does a dangerous dance with dreams, curses, and its own peculiar form of time travel. This is always a risky path to follow and one that often ends in infinite plot holes and time loop-the-loops that make me feel like the writing is lazy and the story blasé. You either have your change the past—change the future trope or the parallel dimentions trope. The Curse of Buckout Road follows neither, as this one is not science based but magical? Cursed time travel? Existing in two times at once? Whatever it was, it was different enough to be entertaining without being a mess of plot holes. I’m sure if I had to go back and re-watch the film, I’d be able to point out a handful or so, but what I appreciated is that they weren’t staring you in the face while you watch the film.
There are a lot of similar films out there, films that are made without a lot of heart or passion. The Curse of Buckout Road really felt more like a passion project that something that was just made for TV or digital release. It felt like a lot of people put in a lot of effort and it was just different enough for me to call it memorable. I even loved the music choice for the credits…some folks really took their time and put a lot of love into the creation of this film.
Is it a breakout film that will forever redefine a genre? No, absolutely not. Does it deserve its four-star rating on IMDb? Another no. If I had to make an analogy comparing the best-made horror films to a gourmet meal, The Course of Buckout Road would be homey comfort food made with love. Give it a chance. Thanks for reading and stay sordid. The Curse of Buckout Road will be available on digital download, via all major platforms, from the 28th October. Trailer and poster below.
