''Exit Speed'' is a 2008
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
by Sabbatical Pictures. The film was directed by
Scott Ziehl
Scott Ziehl is an American film director.
Filmography
* 2012 - '' Shadow Witness''
* 2008 - ''Exit Speed''
* 2007 - '' Saints & Sinners'' (TV series)
* 2006 - ''Road House 2'' (video)
* 2005 - ''Demon Hunter''
* 2004 - '' Three Way''
* 2004 - '' ...
, and stars
Desmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He has appeared in '' The Hole'' (2001), ''Ghost Ship'' (2002), and '' Wrong Turn'' (2003), Desmond joined the cast of the Showtime series '' Dexter'' in its third season, as D ...
,
Julie Mond
Julie Mond is an American actress. She may be best known for establishing the role of Dr Lisa Niles on the daily soap opera '' General Hospital'' in November 2009, then being replaced by a different actress after two weeks. Mond also gained atte ...
,
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director.
She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzl ...
,
Alice Greczyn
Alice Hannah Meiqui Greczyn (born February 6, 1986) is an American actress and model best known for roles in the films ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', '' Shrooms'', ''House of Fears'' and '' Sex Drive''. She is also well known as Sage Lund in '' Lincoln ...
,
David Rees Snell
David Rees Snell (born August 20, 1966) is an American actor known for his roles as Detective Ronnie Gardocki on the crime drama ''The Shield'', Detective John Burrows in ''S.W.A.T.'' (2018–present), and Paul in '' The Beacon'' (2009).
Career ...
and
Fred Ward
Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''Southern Comfort'', '' The R ...
. The 90-minute action film was shown at
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
in 2008. The film was made in the
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
area, where it premiered. It was released to theaters in the Southwest in September 2008.
Plot
In
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Sergeant Archie Sparks, an MP, has finally caught up with AWOL Corporal Meredith Cole, who has been accused of assaulting a commanding officer. When Archie turns his back for a moment, Meredith manages to escape his custody once again.
Cole finds herself on an American Auto Coach bus on her way to
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
, along with an eclectic group of passengers for what should be an uneventful ride on
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
.
The bus passes a group of meth-addicted, nomadic bikers who taunt the passengers by performing stunts around the bus. One of the bikers makes a mistake and ends up under the wheels of the bus, resulting in the rest of the bikers seeking revenge. The driver, Danny Gunn stops the bus to help, and when he gets out, one of the bikers kills him. Stray shots also wound Meredith and passenger Joey Ryan.
Another passenger, Jerry Yarbro, a high school football coach who was accused of assaulting a student, retrieves the biker's weapon, while Walter Lindley, another passenger, retrieves Danny's keys. The surviving passengers drive away in the bus in an effort to get away from the bikers. As they flee down the highway, Joey dies from her injuries.
The rest of the passengers include single mother Maudie McMinn, moody, wayward father Sam Cutter, tough woman Desiree, her extremely skittish boyfriend Duke, Annabel Drake a vegan who happens to be a competitive archer, and Ramon Vargas a Spanish-speaking electrician.
At Jerry's insistence, they take the bus down a side road. The bikers force the bus off the road at an abandoned junkyard, where the bus crashes, killing Walter. The passengers build a makeshift bunker that the bikers surround. And Jerry, who seems to have anger management issues, still has the gun. The group is now on the defensive against the vengeful bikers. But they realize that in order to survive, they must go on the offensive and fight back against the bikers.
That evening, they make a plan to hold out in the junkyard while Maudie, (a
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
er), crosses 20 miles of desert to reach the nearest town for help. As the remaining survivors fight back with captured guns, Annabel's target bow, and Ramon's jury-rigged cannon, Maudie gets away from the compound. Maudie meets up with Archie, and they kill some of the bikers.
The two make it back to the compound during the middle of the confrontation, in which the remaining bikers injure Ramon and kill Duke, Desiree, and Jerry. After the remaining bikers are killed, the survivors—Sam, Meredith, Annabel, and Ramon—are driven to the nearest town by Maudie and Archie.
Later, at a hospital, Maudie reunites with her daughters, and Meredith again evades the army, this time with Archie's help. Meredith joins Sam and Annabel as they head back out on the road in a minivan.
Cast
*
Desmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He has appeared in '' The Hole'' (2001), ''Ghost Ship'' (2002), and '' Wrong Turn'' (2003), Desmond joined the cast of the Showtime series '' Dexter'' in its third season, as D ...
as Sam Cutter
*
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director.
She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzl ...
as Maudie McMinn
*
Julie Mond
Julie Mond is an American actress. She may be best known for establishing the role of Dr Lisa Niles on the daily soap opera '' General Hospital'' in November 2009, then being replaced by a different actress after two weeks. Mond also gained atte ...
as Corporal Meredith Cole
*
Alice Greczyn
Alice Hannah Meiqui Greczyn (born February 6, 1986) is an American actress and model best known for roles in the films ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', '' Shrooms'', ''House of Fears'' and '' Sex Drive''. She is also well known as Sage Lund in '' Lincoln ...
as Annabel Drake
*
Fred Ward
Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''Southern Comfort'', '' The R ...
as Sgt. Archibald "Archie" Sparks
*
Gregory Jbara
Gregory Jbara (; born September 28, 1961) is an American film, television, and stage actor, and a singer.
Early life and education
Jbara was born in Nankin Township (now Westland), Michigan, the son of an advertising office manager and an insura ...
as Coach Jerry Yarbro
*
David Rees Snell
David Rees Snell (born August 20, 1966) is an American actor known for his roles as Detective Ronnie Gardocki on the crime drama ''The Shield'', Detective John Burrows in ''S.W.A.T.'' (2018–present), and Paul in '' The Beacon'' (2009).
Career ...
as Danny Gunn
* Kelli Dawn Hancock as Desiree
* Nick Sowell as Duke
* Everett Sifuentes as Ramon Emancio Eladio Vargas
* Wally White as Walter Lindley
* Danielle Beacham as Joey Ryan
* Asante Jones as Sheriff Tom Jasper
* Roy Samuelson as Vic Towbridge (Meredith's one-night stand)
External links
*
*
References
{{Scott Ziehl
2008 films
2008 action thriller films
2000s Christmas films
American chase films
American action thriller films
Films about buses
Films set in Texas
Films about deserters
2000s English-language films
Films directed by Scott Ziehl
2000s American films