Recent Reviews
Short Film Review: Road Kill
By John Marrone
Nov 5, 2005, 16:55

Directed by:  Mark Mardini
Running time:  14 minutes
Body count:  2

Its a dark and moonless night out on a long, barren stretch of highway.  So barren that if you scream there will be nobody around to hear you.  Last place you want to be wandering about.  Sounds like it could be the perfect hunting grounds for a serial killer.  Mark Mardini poses the question, in his short horror-comedy film, Road Kill - if there can be one, then why not two?  And if there were two, what would happen if they crossed paths on that same stretch of highway? 

Thus the premise in this 14 minute, Audience Choice award winner from this year's New York City Horror Film Festival.  Personally I have never claimed to be a big fan of the horror-comedy, but as this story quickly develops, you can't help but become interested in who's going to off who first.  The remainder is a fun, almost comic-book like battle of idiocy and bloodthirst, as the Southside Butcher and the North Valley Strangler slash it out to see who will hold the title of the greatest serial killer of all time.

Headed down a dark highway in his psycho station wagon, the Southside Butcher (played by Sean "Steve Buschemi" Whalen) is looking for his 83rd victim.  A sharpened machete in his lap, he notices a lone man walking the side of the road, hoping for a ride.  Seems almost too simple.  But this man is no ordinary man.  Upon entering the car, he immediately begins to babble on about his trouble in a long run-on story, barely even taking a breath.  Only a short way up the road, Southside tries to shut him up by going for his blade.  The hitcher grabs his hand and stops him.  With his new passenger still yapping like a drunk and lonely relative at a reunion, Southside goes for his blade again.  Blocked again - the hitcher grabs Southside's hand and has him feel the click in his jaw.  Southside Butcher grows so annoyed, the voice in his head is bellowing for him to slit open the man's throat so he can hear him gurgle in his own blood.

Southside darts for his blade, grabs it, and swings at the man's face!  But he's blocked AGAIN!  This time, by another machete, as the passenger simultaneously goes to swing for Southside's throat.  Blades clash - and suddenly the hitcher realizes who he's in the car with.  "You're the Southside Butcher!"  What's the chances that two serial killers would meet out on the same stretch of road?  The passenger introduces himself.  "I'm the North Valley Strangler!"

As they drive up the road and share histories, mutual influences and heroes, discuss their different styles and techniques, you can't help but laugh at the sorry North Valley Strangler - who is an absolute oafish idiot, completely unable to understand the art of his craft, or premeditate the manner in which he's going to finish his record breaking victim.  He's mentally shallow, and the Southside Butcher can barely comprehend his ignorance.  A connoisseur of his sickness, each killing is done with the same weapon, each body the head severed, each head buried exactly 30 kilometers away.  As each of these killers babble on, becoming increasingly annoyed with each other, you find yourself laughing at the spectacle of it all.  This short was well written and directed by Mark Mardini.  It pulls off that fine balance between comedy and a good slasher film.  And bloodthirsty horror fans, don't run away.  There's hacked off limbs, blood-splattered girl scouts, and severed heads as well. 

In the final minutes, both killers are slashing it out next to a huge, overdug grave, fit for an elephant or two.  North Valley explains his mistake, "Its my first ditch!"  and soon they're hacking it out within.  A cute little Sunshine Girl stumbles across their skirmish, braces and pigtails and all, lost in the woods... and soon they're fighting over the potential kill.  Tara Lynne Barr (who most recently appeared as the "Jump Rope Girl" in the season 2 premiere of "Joan of Arcadia" in 2004, and as the tragically murdered child "Sally Yates" in Crossing Jordan's fourth season episode "Murder in the Rue Morgue" in 2005) played this role great, and actually made me laugh.  She was a perfect contrast to the vile, and lowly murderers who fought over her, and ultimately come to their demise over.  Her distraction causes the two to inadvertently cut off each others head at the same time, resulting in the two killers' futile attempt to break the record of their mutually idolized serial killer. 

A good, well-balanced blend of laughs and blood makes Road Kill a 14 minute road trip worth taking.  Not a major fan of the horror-comedy blend, this was an exception - an addition to a short list of them that I would recommend to others.  Anyone interested in obtaining a copy may email the director and request one. 

FILM CAST AND CREW:

Starring:
Sean Whalen
Steve Kehela
Tara Lynne Barr

Directed by:
Mark Mardini

Written by:
Mark Mardini   

Executive Producers:
Tom Arnold
Karen Zeitoun

Producers:
Stephen Fromkin 
Mark Mardini  
 
Original Music: 
Thanh Tran   
 
Cinematography: Byron Werner   
 
Film Editing: 
Erik Hammarberg   
 
Art Direction: 
Melanie Hubbard   
 
Costume Design: 
Olivera Zemljak   
 
Boom Operator: Erik Diener

Sound Mixer: 
Tim D. Lloyd

Sound Designer: 
Barrie Maguire
 
Stunt Coordinator:
Myke Michael
 
Electric Swing: 
Alexandra Gallo

Grip: 
Alexandra Gallo

Production Company:
Clean Break Productions

Special Effects:
Evolution Effects Studio

Special Thanks:
Stephanie Sklar
Matchframe Video
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