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''Road Games'' (also known as ''Fausse Route'') is a 2015
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
written and directed by
Abner Pastoll Abner Pastoll (born 12 February 1982) is a British-South African film director, screenwriter, and editor, born in South Africa, where his family used to own a two-screen cinema. Background Abner started making films at the age of 4, inspired pri ...
. The film stars Andrew Simpson as a British
hitchhiker Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...
travelling through France.
IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...
released the film theatrically in the United States on 4 March 2016. Icon Film Distribution released the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 26 August 2016.


Plot

Jack, a young British hitchhiker in the French countryside, attempts to get a ride to the ferry service back to England. After walking along the road for hours without having any cars stop, he comes upon an arguing couple who pull over and continue their fight. Concerned, Jack approaches the car and pulls the man out before he can strike the woman. The man backs off from Jack and drives away, leaving Jack with the woman, who introduces herself as a fellow hitchhiker named Véronique. Véronique tells him that there is a serial killer active on this road, which explains why Jack could not get a ride. The two agree to travel together for safety, and Véronique helps him work on his French. Véronique says she is a drifter whose parents blame her for her brother's accidental death, and Jack that, on the same day, he lost all his luggage and found his girlfriend cheating on him. An eccentric man, Grizard, stops and offers the two a ride. Although Véronique is reluctant, Jack convinces her to accept Grizard's offer. When Grizard discovers that Jack is English, he enthusiastically invites Jack to meet his English wife. Véronique protests at the detour, but Jack again convinces her to accept Grizard's hospitality. On the way to his house, Grizard stops to pick up roadkill and laughs when Jack suggests they bury it instead of eating it. Mary, Grizard's wife, turns out to be American, though she says she has also lived in England. During dinner, Jack reveals that he is a vegetarian and apologetically declines to eat their meat. Grizard mocks him in French, upsetting Mary and Véronique. When the conversation turns to the serial killer, Mary becomes upset and leaves the table. Grizard insists they are safe in his house and urges them to stay the night. Grizard puts Jack and Véronique in separate bedrooms. Jack finds photographs of a boy and girl in his room, but Grizard tells Jack they have no children. Before Jack goes to bed, Mary advises him to lock his door, which he does. That night, Véronique enters his bedroom, and they have sex. Jack invites her to come to England with him, and she excitedly accepts. When he wakes, she is nowhere to be found. Grizard says she has left and produces a note. Although Jack is suspicious, Grizard insists he immediately leave the house. As he leaves, Jack realises the handwriting on the note is not Véronique's. Before he can do anything else, he is drugged and kidnapped by Grizard's handyman, Delacroix. Delacroix says Jack must have annoyed Grizard a great deal, and, in French, variously threatens and mocks Jack; Jack says he does not understand and begs to be let go. Delacroix ties up Jack and puts him in his truck, but, before Delaxcroix can drive off, Jack escapes. Delacroix says to himself that Jack is in even worse trouble now that he has escaped. Jack returns to Grizard's house, where he finds Véronique tied up. After freeing her, he arms himself with a shotgun. Jack and Véronique escape the house in a stolen car, pursued by Grizard and Mary, who have returned home. After a car chase in which their car flips, Jack and Véronique flee on foot. They encounter Delacroix, who, after a scuffle, accidentally impales himself on a farm tool. While Jack is not looking, Véronique kills Delacroix with a knife. Grizard and Mary find her and he has a vision of Véronique was a child, revealing her as their daughter. She claims then, as she does now, that she did not murder anyone and the death was accidental. In French, Mary and Grizard, revealed to be Véronique's parents, plead with her to return home and stop killing people, saying they cannot cover for her any more. Véronique refuses. Before Mary can tell Jack the truth in English, Véronique knocks Mary unconscious with the shotgun and gags Grizard. As Véronique and Jack drive off together, Véronique checks to make sure she has Delacroix's knife. After the credits, Mary wakes up and cries at losing her daughter and Grizard despairs while gagged.


Cast

* Andrew Simpson as Jack * Joséphine de La Baume as Véronique *
Frédéric Pierrot Frédéric Pierrot (born 17 September 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 120 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film ''Tell Me I'm Dreaming'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1 ...
as Grizard *
Barbara Crampton Barbara Crampton (born December 27, 1958) is an American actress and producer. She began her career in the 1980s in television soap operas before starring in horror and thriller films—both paths would define her continued accolade-winning care ...
as Mary *
Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor of Russian-Polish origin, born on 27 February 1948 in Paris. A screen performer, he has participated in numerous plays, films and television series in France and abroad. Life and career Féodor Atkine was born ...
as Delacroix * Pierre Boulanger as Thierry


Production

Shooting took place mostly in England; twenty days were shot there, and five in France. To simulate French driving conditions, Pastoll had to close off a section of road so they could drive on the right side. Scenes were also filmed at St Clere, Kent, where Jack, Veronique and Grizard arrive at the house and meet Mary. Scenes also took place at Falconhurst in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, where Delacroix drugs Jack and takes him in to the van to his barn, where he feeds him and then puts him back into truck room which Jack escapes. Shooting also took place at Castle Farm - Lavendar, Kent, where Jack and Veronique are seen running across the field away from Grizard and Mary.


Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, a
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, reports that 83% of 18 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 7/10. John DeFore of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote, "Some of the surprises in store play better than others, whose narrative logic is difficult to fathom; then again, Pastoll's ultimate conceit leaves plenty of room for interpretation." Nicolas Rapold of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the film becomes "less chilling than mildly confusing, and a little disappointing", falling short of its influences from the 1980s.


References


External links

* * {{AllMovie title, 642462 2015 films 2015 multilingual films 2015 thriller films 2010s English-language films 2010s French-language films British multilingual films British thriller films English-language French films Films set in France Films shot in France Films shot in Kent French multilingual films French thriller films 2010s British films 2010s French films