Toad Road

Filmmaker Jason Banker's Toad Road is being marketed as a horror movie, but is really more of a would-be psychological thriller with supernatural overtones. Set in rural Pennsylvania, the film stars James Davidson as James, a slacker who hangs out with a bunch of equally scruffy, drugged-out friends. James becomes involved with Sara (Sara Anne Jones), a college girl who has abandoned her studies and is now obsessed with a local legend about a forest housing the entrance to hell. The pair set out to find the infernal gate, but Sara disappears and James is found wandering in the wilderness some six months later, unable to recall what happened. Naturally, James is suspected of having murdered Sara. Banker eventually offers, via blurry flashbacks, some suggestion of what might have happened, but many will be disappointed by the relative lack of payoff, especially given the film's other drawbacks, which include amateurish acting, bland dialogue, and threadbare production values. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)