Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Directed by Babak Anvari
The latest project from Babak Anvari, who hit the scene in 2016 with his fantastic and eye-opening debut Under the Shadow! Hallow Road is an incredibly tense, truly minimalist thrill ride with fun elements of folk horror. Hop in, let’s go!
Hallow Road: The Players
- Rosamund Pike [Saltburn (2023)]: Maddie, professional paramedic and Alice’s mom.
- Matthew Rhys [TV’s The Americans (2013–2018)]: Frank, Alice’s very protective father.
- Megan McDonnell [TV’s The Rainmaker (2025)]: Alice (voice), Frank & Maddie’s handful of a daughter who always needs bailing out.
Hallow Road: The Breakdown
Synopsis
It’s not the first time Frank and Maddie have gotten a late-night phone call from their troubled daughter Alice. This time, however, the stakes are higher — she’s caused a tragic car accident somewhere deep in the forest. As Frank and Maddie race against time to find her on the desolate stretch of Hallow Road, they discover that the traffic accident might be the least of their worries.
Production
Practically a stage play, Hallow Road unfolds in what amounts to a single location, and the gamble pays off. Anvari’s choice to confine nearly the entire runtime to the front seats of a single car instills a sense of crushing anxiety. While a clever opening sequence — the camera slowly drifting through the family kitchen — gives just enough non-verbal backstory before the tension clamps down.
Despite the self-imposed limitations, production shines. The nighttime car-bound setting is lit beautifully, and the score by Peter Adams and Lorne Balfe becomes a driving force all its own, steadily ratcheting up the dread. Folk-horror details pepper the edges, rewarding sharp-eyed viewers without punishing those who miss them.
Cast and Story
With such a tiny cast, Hallow Road lives or dies on its leads — and thankfully, Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys absolutely own the screen. Pike, in particular, deserves special recognition for balancing pragmatic paramedic instincts with raw maternal fear. Rhys matches her with barely contained intensity as a father struggling to keep control.
Writer William Gillies impresses with his debut feature script, crafting a taut, tense thriller with only a few minor lapses into repetitive dialogue. But even those moments are easily forgiven thanks to the powerhouse performances. The script embraces the claustrophobic setting, turning a confined car into a crucible of fear and desperation.
Summary
Hallow Road is proof that with the right mix of talent, atmosphere, and precision, you can wring gripping horror out of the barest of setups. Anvari’s minimalist vision, Gillies’ tight script, and two phenomenal lead performances deliver a white-knuckled folk-horror thriller you won’t soon forget.
Review by Robert Zilbauer.