Autumn Road is a 2021 American horror film about twin brothers running a haunted house and an aspiring actress – who are all affected by the disappearance of a young girl.
Written, directed by and starring Riley Cusick (director of The Wild Man; actor in VFW; Satanic Panic).
The Last Motel production also stars Lorelei Linklater (Amityville Bigfoot; Teenage Vampire 2; Blood Surf), Justin Meeks (Butcher Boys), Lar Park-Lincoln (13 Fanboy; Expulsion; Sky Sharks; Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood), George Welder and Maddy-Lea Hendrix. Produced by Xander McCabe. Executive produced by Eric Floyd and Mark Schultz.
Plot:
Ten years after a young girl goes missing on Halloween night, her grief-ridden sister returns to their hometown to make peace with her unresolved past. Along the way, she becomes entangled with two idiosyncratic identical twins from her childhood who now run the town’s roadside haunted attraction.
With nowhere else to go, she is drawn deeper and deeper into their world of scares, secrets, and the enchanting house of horrors. While one twin pulls her closer, the other’s threats and scare tactics escalate to a breaking point where he must decide what lines he’s willing to cross.
At the same time, her connection with her sister is growing as she starts to unearth new information about who she was and what happened that night all those years ago. The three haunted souls soon find themselves on a melancholic journey for truth set against the backdrop of an approaching Halloween season and the anniversary of her sister’s disappearance…
Reviews:
“I really enjoyed this film as it’s just as much a slasher as it is a very human story. I was also happy to see Friday the 13th Part VII star Lar Par Lincoln show up. Autumn Road is most definitely worth your time.” B&S About Movies
” …when the film gets intimate, the moments of genuine emotion are wonderful, but most of the time it feels like the script is too afraid of getting close to the characters and only wants them to exist as caricatures instead. The character of Vincent hides beneath an owl mask at times in this movie, and like him, Autumn Road seems intent on pushing away the viewer by putting on a mask when things seem to be getting too genuine.” Cinedump
“Autumn Road is a confused and muddled mess of ideas. It even manages to squeeze in an American History X head stomp scene […] Ideas are not particularly cohesive and while relying on performances to hold it up just can’t manage to be the movie it wants to be. The film feels like a coming-of-age movie but was simply not interesting enough to recommend.” Mother of Movies
“This is a more story-driven horror so there’s not really any big jump scares, it’s more psychological. But it works in that way and it definitely has this very Autumny style and feeling to it all. Kind of drab and a little eerie. The small, more horror-fueled moments are decent and even the killers mask – a handmade owl face somehow works.” Nerdly
“Autumn Road works best when it is quiet and contemplative. Many of its biggest surprises come across as unintentionally funny, such as a shocking but also highly telegraphed death early on in the film and a moment when Vincent hits a snag in one of his violent plans. Most of the plot surrounding Vincent and a few other inexplicably violent characters makes little sense…” Nightmarish Conjurings
It’s a good film debut done on the indie scale. But there’s room for growth. The script is weak, resulting in unrealistic dialogue that performs poorly paired with a handful of mostly wooden performances […] Autumn Road still shines though, mostly when Cusick allows himself to become a little unhinged or when his monologues have time to ramp up into the insane.” UK Film Review
” …it’s an attractive film, with some great settings, and some careful sleight of hand which provides some interesting sequences. Unfortunately, all the Halloween aesthetics in the world can’t stand in for a plot or good performances, nor can they replace a script or a judicious edit. This is a film which, although coming in at just over the sanctified ninety minutes, feels far, far longer.” Warped Perspective
Release:
In North America, Autumn Road will be available via Gravitas Ventures on November 23rd 2021.
Cast and characters:
Lorelei Linklater … Laura
Riley Cusick … Charlie and Vincent
Justin Meeks … Henry
Lar Park-Lincoln … Kennedy
George Welder … Hunter
Maddy-Lea Hendrix … Winnie
Ranger Lerway … Young Charlie
Jonas Lerway … Young Vincent
Jordan Wright … Molly
Kerry McCormick … Lou
Matt Williams … Fletcher
Sydney Aucreman … Parker
Christian Baker … Boyfriend
Maya Alexander … Jade
Madison Pine … Cat
Kenneth Fisher … Hunter’s Friend
Buddy Love … Jack
Technical details:
95 minutes
Trailer:
