The romantic couple have just left the restaurant. Standing on the sidewalk for their ride share to pick them up, the wait is turning into a long one. Should they try another app? Oh, wait-here’s there driver now! Something doesn’t seem quite right with “Dawn,” but she’s friendly and professional and hot as balls – so they hop in.
Big Mistake
You think you’ve been stuck in an Uber ride from Hell where the driver has apparently bathed the greasy seats in bad after shave and refuses to take a direct route? Forget about it – this film’s couple (Oliver (Jared Cohn) and Anna (Sarah French) would gladly trade places with you.
The conversation between Dawn and her passengers starts off friendly, but starts getting more and more personal and, frankly, kinda weird. And once she goes speeding past the turn to their place, well, now we got ourselves a potential crisis.
I’ll tread lightly to avoid major spoilers, but it’s obvious fairly early on that Dawn has done this before – in fact-the passengers notice a camera mounted on the dash, recording everything that’s being said and done. That’s because Dawn has an audience who are devoted to seeing her cruel and creepy exploits. I won’t say how or where they see it and, to be honest, that’s one element that doesn’t seem as credible as others during this ride.
For example-Dawn forces each of the couple to divulge the worst thing they’ve ever done in their lives. Their past sins shock one another and only add to the tension in the locked car.
Whether a function of a low budget or just the design of the screenwriter, most of the story (not all) takes place inside the car. The claustrophobic setting ratchets up our curiosity as we wait to see how this is all going to end up.
There are a few gory elements, but it’s more psychological thriller than splatter horror. It’s also, if I’m not missing something, meant to be at least partly high camp. Moore’s having too much fun for it not to be.
I was hoping for something a bit more WOW! for the film’s conclusion, but zipping along at 1 hour and 25 minutes, the movie doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Dawn is available on Prime Video, VUDU, and other platforms.| 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
