A group of young friends are travelling down a deserted road when they suffer a tire blow out. Things play out mundane A.F. until suddenly members of our gregarious gang start ending up well ventilated courtesy of bullets exploding through their skulls via a hidden sniper. Now the day has gone from sunny to shitty, will any of the friends survive the afternoon, and just who the hell is shooting at them and why?
Directed by Ryûhei Kitamura (Godzilla: Final Wars, Versus), Downrange is a tight, simply told piece of suspense cinema that not only looks great, but backs plenty of grizzly gore (and I do mean plenty) into it’s ninety minute run time. There’s also a really cool piece of synth score that kicks in around thirty five minute mark that would be right at home in any random ’80’s slasher flick.
On the flip side, though everyone does a great job in their respective roles, I didn’t know enough about the characters to be 100% invested in their survival…some were just there for fodder (an seemingly unavoidable element that rears it’s head in many a slasher film, which at it’s heart this is). It certainly didn’t kill the tension of the piece (murder is horrifying whether you know the victim or not, but from a narrative aspect knowing more about your characters is never a bad thing).
To sum it all up. Downrange is a taught, expertly handled slasher cum thriller with a simple story that stumbles a bit due to light characterization. Overall, the film is highly satisfying, and well worth your time (the gore on hand will satisfy horror hounds alone)!
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