Toad Road

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This article is about the 2012 horror thriller film. For the York, Pennsylvania urban legend by the same name, see Seven Gates of Hell.
Toad Road

Theatrical film poster
Directed by Jason Banker
Produced by Elijah Wood
Written by Jason Banker
Starring Sara Anne Jones, James Davidson, Jim Driscoll
Music by Dag Rosenqvist
Cinematography Jason Banker
Studio SpectreVision
Random Bench Productions
Release dates
  • July 26, 2012 (2012-07-26) (Fantasia Film Festival)
  • October 25, 2013 (2013-10-25) (United States)
Running time 76 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Toad Road is a 2012 independent horror thriller film directed and written by Jason Banker.[1] The movie premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 26, 2012, and had a limited theatrical release beginning October 25, 2013.[2] Toad Road stars Sara Anne Jones, who died of a drug overdose shortly after the film's 2012 premiere,[3] as a young college student that is introduced to drugs and becomes obsessed with an urban legend about a road leading to Hell.[4][5]

Synopsis

Slacker James (James Davidson) and his friends spend their days abusing alcohol and drugs and their nights at various parties. He moves through his life with a sense of boredom until he meets Sara (Sara Anne Jones), a college student seeking enlightenment from drugs. Knowing that this would prove harmful to her, James tries to dissuade Sara from this idea but is ultimately unsuccessful.

As she becomes more and more addicted to drugs, Sara becomes obsessed with the idea of Toad Road, a road in York, Pennsylvania, possessing seven gates that are rumored to lead directly to Hell. She persuades James to join her in an excursion to Toad Road, where the two take acid and eventually become separated. James ends up passing out and upon waking, finds that six months have passed since he and Sara went to Toad Road. She has been reported as missing and he is considered to be a person of interest in her disappearance.

Cast

  • Sara Anne Jones as Sara
  • James Davidson as James
  • Jim Driscoll as Detective
  • Whitleigh Higuera as Whitleigh
  • Damon Johansen as Uncle Damon
  • Andy Martin as Psychiatrist
  • Scott Rader as Scott
  • Jamie Siebold as Jamie
  • Donnie Simmons as Donnie

Production

Banker first began working on Toad Road in 2008 and cast Jones as Sara, a college student addicted to drugs that becomes fascinated with the legend of Toad Road. He stated that he wanted to use the idea of drug addiction as a foil to the idea of the urban legend of Toad Road.[3] Banker was inspired to create the film after watching footage for his documentary All Tomorrow’s Parties.[6] Of the party footage, Banker commented that while the footage was great, it didn't "really [say] anything" and that it would be interesting to create a story "that felt like this but actually went and had a real story to it".[6] Elijah Wood came across the film in 2012 during the film festival Nightmare City and decided to help produce Toad Road.[6]

Reception

Critical reception has been mixed to positive, and general reviews for Toad Road remark that the film held promise but did not completely fulfill expectations.[7][8][9] Variety gave a mixed review, commenting that while the film was "intriguing" but also "somewhat unsatisfying", Toad Road could improve with repeat viewings.[10] The New York Times' review was also mixed, as the reviewer said that as a conventional horror movie the film would disappoint and that it would be more appreciated as an "uncomfortably authentic drama about the horrors of dedicated drug use".[11] The Village Voice labeled Toad Road a "unique chiller" and The Hollywood Reporter called it an "audacious but aimless micro-budgeted feature".[12][13]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Bowen, Chuck. "Toad Road (review)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ "TOAD ROAD World Premiere". FantasiaFest. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "American Ghost Story: The Brief, Eerie Life of Model Sara Anne Jones". Vocativ. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Fantasia 2012 Review: TOAD ROAD". Twitch Film. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Fantasia '12 Review: 'Toad Road' A Captivating Micro-Budget Horror Film". IndieWire. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "JASON BANKER AND ELIJAH WOOD ON ‘TOAD ROAD’". Vice. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  7. ↑ "Toad Road (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Review: Promising 'Toad Road' cuts short its potential". LA Times. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  9. ↑ Weinberg, Scott. "FEARnet Movie Review: 'Toad Road'". FearNet. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Film Review: ‘Toad Road’". Variety. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  11. ↑ CATSOULIS, JEANNETTE. "Tripping All the Way to the Gates of Hell". NY Times. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Docu-horror Film Toad Road Is a Unique Chiller". Village Voice. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Toad Road: Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  14. ↑ "2012 Fantasia Festival Awards 'Doomsday Book' 'Toad Road' and 'The King of Pigs'". IndieWire. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 

External links

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