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Review: Lane Toran’s “Getaway” (I Spit on Your Grave Meets The Craft)

As with almost every subgenre in the horror-verse, abduction films are a dime a dozen at this point. What’s going to make your movie stand out from the crowd and receive my stamp of approval falls solely on originality. How will your story bring something new to a narrative I’ve heard over and over again? With Lane Toran’s Getaway, this idea came in to play and passed the grade to become genius and invigorating. Written by Lane Toran and Jacklyn Betham, Getaway finds a young woman named Tamara Miller as she enjoys a weekend at the lake with her two best friends. After a night out drinking at the local bar, Tamara finds herself drugged, kidnapped and held hostage by a criminal group of backwoods hillbillies. However, the assailants are about to learn that they picked the wrong girl, and even though she’s by herself in the forest, she isn’t truly alone. Starring Scout Taylor-Compton (Halloween), Landry Allbright (“Star Trek: Picard”), Lane Toran (“Hey Arnold”), Jamil Walker Smith, Jacklyn Betham, Ben Deschaine, Chrystopher Ryan Johnson, Lane Caudell and Noah Lowdermilk, Getaway is coming to DVD and digital this April 14th 2020 courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment. Here’s why you should check it out.

Getaway is directed by Lane Toran and features cinematography by Erin Naifeh. The pair also edited the movie, which was produced by Jacklyn Betham, Naifeh and Liz Zwiebel. As with every title in the Uncork’d Entertainment catalog, Getaway has all the markings of a great independent production. Flawless audio, palpable atmosphere, interesting styles and moderate effects and scores. But what really sets this film apart from the pack is, well, I just found all the camera decisions to be extremely pleasing to the eye. The picture quality is on point, and through simple departments like wardrobe and set decoration, everything blended together well to become eye-catching and beautiful. The ending sequence, specifically, is award winning in itself and this is exactly what happens when you have the right, qualified people working the right behind-the-scenes department. Look and show is such an integral part of a movie, just as much as story and the actors’ performance, so I’m glad that Getaway was executed with such success and dignity.

Now, it’s hard for me to give deep opinions on the plot of the movie because I don’t want to provide any spoilers. Since a big footnote is highlighted in the poster (pictured above), I will say that Getaway is a mix of The Craft and I Spit On your Grave, and I’ll let your imaginations run wild from there. The beginning, which showcases an awesome, old muscle car, starts off like every woman’s worst nightmare. Imagine running out of gas in the middle of nowhere and having creepy men fawn all over you with uncomfortable closeness. Do they want to rob you of your vehicle, assault you or worse? Honestly, Getaway could have kept that story-line going and flat-lined halfway through the nightmare, but the addition of the supernatural really breathed life into a story that reminds you: never judge a book by her cover. To this notion of women and the world we live in, I’d also like to mention that the three lead actresses were able to be vulnerable yet powerful, weak yet willful and calculated yet sexy without relying solely on their looks. They were multi-faced character pulled off by multi-talented actresses.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my viewing of Getaway. It was a little low on the traditional horror side, but it more than makes up for it in suspense, production quality and originality. Well done. Final Score: 8 out of 10.

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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