BA_Harrison Writer Dennis Twist (Rick Crawford) drives into town to end his extra-marital affair with lover Dana, but winds up invoking the wrath of a mysterious motorcyclist on the way. En route home, Dennis finds himself terrorised by the leather-clad, black-helmeted biker, who will stop at nothing to satisfy his rage.Low budget horror/thriller Rage borrows so heavily from Steven Spielberg's Duel that its writer/director Chris Witherspoon feels obliged to acknowledge the fact with a scene where two incidental characters discuss the 1971 movie at length. In doing so, his film becomes an homage (which sounds so much better than rip-off, don'tcha think?). As if nicking the plot wasn't enough, Witherspoon also names his central character Dennis—presumably after Dennis Weaver, who played the lead in Spielberg's movie—and gives his film a similarly snappy four letter title.For his final act, Witherspoon turns to the slasher genre for inspiration, his motorbiking psycho becoming a seemingly indestructible bogeyman à la Michael Myers, not just targeting Dennis, but also his poor wife Crystal (who, in one particularly brutal scene, is beaten up and raped), and an elderly couple who live across the street who meet a gruesome fate via the business end of a chainsaw.However, despite the flagrant cribbing and a general lack of originality regarding the plot, Rage didn't have me flying into one. Witherspoon's film is actually a reasonably well crafted thriller, one that certainly belies its budgetary limitations, delivering some decent thrills and spills, cool characterisation (Dennis is such a slime-bag), and a smattering of gnarly violence. I doubt very much if it will launch Witherspoon as the next Spielberg, but as 'homages' go, I've seen plenty worse.

mormonnorman This movie has an interesting premise which made me want to watch it. Unfortunately, the budget, story, acting and skills involved in it's making fell short.Rage reminds me of a mix between The Room and Birdemic in it's execution.The Acting is bland and at times annoying, with a few exceptions. The main protagonist is an unlikable character, with no redeeming qualities. I found myself rooting for the antagonist throughout, with the exception of the protagonist's wife, who seems likely to be the only one in the movie with anything between her ears. Worth a watch if you are inclined to liking bad movies, and/or want a movie to make fun of and laugh at, while picking it apart.

klickonn Rage sets out to be a remake of Steven Spielberg's all-time classic Duel, very lofty ambitions indeed.The first problem is the makers of Rage did not have the money or skills to make a road movie. So we have a guy on a bike and a guy in a car navigating the roads of Portland. Then the camera shakes as the bike 'hits' the car, just one example of many laughably poor scenes.As a road movie is out then Rage becomes a low-budget and pretty pointless horror movie, as a remake of Duel it falls way, way short of the mark.If you want to see a great revenge style movie then watch Duel, if you want to watch something nowhere near as good with less style and pointless killing then watch this.

Greg Dennis Twist (Rick Crawford) is about to have the worst day of his life. After a seemingly minor confrontation with a motorcyclist over the availability of a parking spot, an increasingly violent response follows. A response that will draw suspicion, blood and eventually death in Chris Witherspoon's 2010 film, Rage. The idea behind the altercation between Dennis and is unnamed antagonist is as innocent as it is commonplace. How many times have you waiting for a parking spot only to have someone wheel right in? The difference between our encounters and that to which Dennis meets is that most irate motorists might stop at a flipping of the bird or honking the horn. But the mysterious motorcyclist will take his frustration to the next level. He will follow and torment Dennis in public washrooms to his own home in order to exact some kind of unequal revenge for the slight. Dennis believes he knows the person behind the helmet that is tormenting him. Dennis has been unfaithful to his wife and he believes that the motorcyclist is an acquaintance of the woman to which he was having an affair. It was an interesting plot development that added a thin layer of mystique, but I don't think the audience was as fooled as Witherspoon (who also wrote the screenplay) intended. Things escalate gradually until they go off the rails once the Biker follows Dennis home. Invading the Twist abode, the Biker takes his violence to the next level by savagely assaulting Dennis and his wife. A prying neighbor also gets into the mix and is met with the bloodiest fate of the independent cast. Rage was one of those small entertaining movies that got us to the edge a few times but couldn't push us over. Writer/director Chris Witherspoon doesn't have a lengthy resume, but his directing talents were on full display with impressive framing shots and some coloring techniques (sequences in black and white) that showed both a confidence and a playfulness behind the camera. The acting is relatively strong. The Biker has no dialogue so the movie rests on the shoulders of Rick Crawford and he is competent in the protagonist role. Without words (or even a face) to go with our villain, it was hard to connect with his motivation. Why he would resort to a small chainsaw in a scene that I would title 'Collateral Damage' was a bit of a stretch, but we were still appreciative of the blood spillage and the distraction from the main target. Over the course of a year, we screen countless independent film sent to us with producer's intention of promoting the flick – hopefully with a favorable review. Some films we are kinder to than others, but Rage needs no coddling. It is a proficient and capable film that was low key and dark in nature punctuated by some moments of incredible unease (the bedroom scene was particularly well done). That means we can easily recommend Rage and we hope to have not heard the last from director Chris Witherspoon.