Viewed – 27 October 2015  Online rental

Every now and then a movie comes along that really surprises.  This fairly low key and under-publicised Kevin Bacon vehicle (no pun intended) follows two run-away ten year old boys who stumble upon a seemingly abandoned police squad car.  With nobody else around, the two troublesome friends decide to take it for a joy ride, unaware that shady Sherriff Kevin Bacon is not far away and hell bent on getting his transport back.

With the dusty baron wasteland of what looked like Arizona as it’s setting, this is a great idea for a simple, straight forward cat and mouse thriller.  Bacon as expected is on fine form; fresh from his excellent turn in now defunct TV series The Following, he’s lost none of that presence that has always made him so watchable.  Once again here he handles a creepy, dangerous character with ease.  The two young actors playing the boys (James Freedson-Jackson & Hays Wellford) were also convincing, despite moments of alarming stupidity (let’s play with a loaded rifle!).  It’s difficult to go into this without giving away several twists and surprises, so I’ll conclude by saying – director Jon Watts has filled this simple but effective movie with nail biting situations, solid performances and a swift pace, peppered with some well implemented dark humour.

A welcome breath of fresh air in an increasingly unimaginative medium.  Well worth checking out.

Verdict:  4 /5