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Memorable, crazy movie

Just perfect...

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

"Dead End" comes across from the blurb at least like a modern domestic drama that descends into a sort of "Captivity" or "Devil's Rejects" and I suppose anyone into that sort of extreme violence and depravity will be left more than a little disappointed by "Dead End". Cos, for all the presuppositions that a viewer might make about this film before watching, it isn't like either of the aforementioned 'blood-soaked' violence heavy films. It is a lot smarter than that in my opinion. There's substantially more to this film than meets the eye for anyone smart enough to actually dig a bit deeper beyond the obvious on screen action in my view. It subtly deconstructs the main character, Carl (played by Wil Johnson) and seems to lay bare his soul - pretty much presenting him as a total ass who has f****d up the most important thing in his life, his family, by being a bit of a dog, a pervert, and a money hungry son*****ch.* SPOILERS * The disenchanted family situation is something I can relate to - arguing with my wife, annoyed by the constant whining of my kids, thinking that the grass is a greener affair on the other side of the fence (I mean which guy hasn't right?), getting riled at absolutely f**k all most of the time. It's a stress thing I guess. The multi-racial tensions of seemingly two single parents uniting adds a further dynamic but the backstory to that isn't really important. It's all about the present and the lack of unity (caused by his needs coming before anyone else's). The diner on the other hand is something pretty ingenious - it doesn't really exist - well, except in Carl's head I guess (they pass a diner on the journey) and neither do any of the characters in the diner. I got the impression they were representing Carl - all the facets of him that make up the scheming b*****d that he is. Maybe as a way of denying responsibility for splitting his family (and in reality killing them in the accident) he tries to offload the guilt to his 'other personalities' which are given 'life' in the film following his run in with the carnival people on the road - essentially the last people he came into contact with before falling asleep at the wheel. That's a clever set up. Not seen that before. I noticed little clues in the film all along when I bought the DVD and went through it - motifs - dog statues in the home (although we never hear "Dog" mentioned by name do we?), the necklace worn by all the girls in his f**k fantasy (and the old hag in the diner), the long haired dude (Diggs I think) basically put down all the time by Jamie Foreman's character (a bit like Carl and his overbearing wife). The creepy boy, Herschel, was a bit like the guy played by Elija Wood in Sin City, but here a pervert trying not to be a pervert. I thought that was a reflection of Carl looking in on his step-daughter but trying his best not to peek. The slutty girl, Mamon, was clearly a representation of temptation with all her bits hanging out. The kissing of the step-daughter was clearly a bloke fantasy in Carl's head - a memory from home hearing the girl on the phone to her girlfriend. I've seen reviewers mention the hell scene at the end and proclaim "what the f**k !" It isn't that hard to understand is it ? It seems to represent, if you haven't worked it out already by that time, the purgatory that Carl is in. The melding girls had me a bit confused but they must be both of Carl's girlfriends or something, though I did see the step-daughter's face in there as well. Did he get to sleep with her too I wonder ? Is that the reason for his guilt ? Only the filmmakers know that I presume.There were loads more references to pick up on. A lot of thought clearly went into writing this. I might be completely wrong of course, but that's how it came across to me - an intelligently written, well made film more like a journey into David Lynch or Lars von Trier territory than into the ordinary blood soaked crass extreme violence of Rob Zombie, Marcus Nispel or other lame, told before stories. And it was great to see Jamie Foreman doing something different - not the boring gangster trite that Brit independent film tends to produce all the time. And at least it isn't another zombie movie either - though "Un-dead End" could be a bloody outing and has a good ring to it. I take my hat off to the filmmakers for trying to do something different and on most counts (apart from the odd low rent cgi moment) succeeding at it. But given the budget that can be excused. So if you have the patience to switch on, watch, listen, and piece it together "Dead End" is an entertaining effort of first time cinema from this writer/director - doing something so 'odd' was a pretty ballsy move. And it does look rich and saturated on film. Love a good film - way better looking than some digital stuff that gets made these days. My advice, go in knowing what not to expect, be prepared to give it a go, find all the clues, and look at it much deeper than merely the gloss of what you can SEE on screen. The meaning lies deeper, and it's an analogical and metaphorical journey into darkness not a literal one I think. If you understand that, and avoid having a beer whilst watching (it'll only serve to muddy your understanding further) you'll get where these filmmakers were coming from in my humble opinion.

Dead End is over blown and weak on script. It centres around a fractious family car trip where mum and dad (Will Johnson and Angela Dixon) spend the whole time moaning at each other throughout. There teenage daughter (Frances Speedie) and son (Callum Anderson) are irritatingly miserable and grumpy.The journey takes longer than they had planned and at one point are overtaken by a convoy of travellers. This prompts dad into a confrontation which the family later regrets when they because ambushed by the travellers, tied up and torture. Sounds like a poor mans Rob Zombie movie doesn't it… Right! The family/gang lead by Jamie Foreman leads his motley and deranged family (Jon Campling, James Fisher, Lucy Drive and Jill Greenacre)… Told you Rob Zombie… Mr. Campling even adapts the voice… They all different aspect threatening or violence behaviour while their captors try their best to resist or escape. You kind of hope that it's going somewhere, that there's a deep meaning to it all but… what little there is does start to make sense as the intimidation progresses.Don't get me wrong it is not a total debacle, there are certain bits within Dead End/hard Shoulder to be commended. Mainly the performance of Jamie Foreman as a vicious villain. But there are also chunks of the movie that are simply poor… Cut it down – that's the best thing to do with this kind of low budget movie 75 minutes would be a max... then it would be much better.

I found the three top reviews of this dog of a movie, that also goes by the name Dead End (which for some reason IMDb does not show when it lists this movie by the title of Hard Shoulder), to be extremely out of focus as to the true nature of this poor quality movie. For one thing, it shows a family (blended racially in this modern world of ours) that is poorly acclimated to each other but doesn't really explore into any depth the reasons for this. Secondly it basically takes a dream sequence and uses that as over half the film and then drops a bomb (stink bomb type) on you at the end that supposedly explains everything but basically leaves you hanging. It was poorly acted, poorly directed and made no sense whatsoever so my truthful suggestion is "skip this stinking turkey!" unless your hungry for some Thanksgiving dinner. StocktonRob

I had the pleasure of attending a private screening of Hard Shoulder through a friend.I wasn't sure what to expect from the director Nicholas David Lean's film debut, but I was very glad I got to watch it.When the Hard Shoulder starts out you're not sure what to expect, another film about an unhappy family? No. This is after all a psychological thriller. After setting the scene of a unhappy family trying to hold things together, the film gradually builds up the tension and takes a very dark, disturbing and violent turn. Then just when you think you have a grasp of what's going on there is a brilliantly unexpected twist.There is some great acting turns in the film from the likes of Lucy Drive, and Jamie Foreman. Jamie now better known as Derek Branning from Eastenders.I'm not sure when this film is out on general release, but if you get the chance, go see it!