Death Valley
Starring: Eric Christian Olson, Rider Strong, Jennifer Cortese, Bumper Robinson, Wayne Young
Written & Directed By: David Kebo, Rudi Liden
Release Date: July 22, 2008
Grade: B

Death Valley is a desertion horror film taking place in the desert, making it feel a lot like The Hills Have Eyes. Rather than using deformed vicious humans it uses a territorial gang as the villains. The film doesn’t do anything completely new, but as it goes along it has a way of surprising you. It becomes more than just partying turned in to a death threat, it questions people’s morals, strength, and just how powerless and lifeless a desert can make a few kids from the city feel.

Josh (Olson) and his friends, Daniel (Strong), Anthony (Robinson), and Brick (Young) decide to get out of the city and take a trip to a rave in the desert for Josh’s birthday. They want to get out and have a good time together in a different and refreshing atmosphere. When they get to the rave they party, get intoxicated and seemingly go out of their minds. In just minutes Josh nearly kills Brick and reverts to suicide when this passes, from a combination of the drugs and a slight depression of feeling that he is in a dead end job, even with being promoted, he still feels such a lack of importance. In the morning, they get over their trip only to realize that much worse trouble will follow. The car battery that they were sold is stolen from their car. They suspect that the people they bought it from stole it so they could sell it back to them again. Many of them are angered at this, feeling that they are being taken advantage of and that they were outsmarted. Still, it seems like it makes more sense just to pay them and give them what they want than to be stuck there any longer. So they scrounge their money together and a few of them walk to the nearest mechanic to buy a new battery.

Meanwhile, that leaves Anthony and a girl he met at the rave, Amber (Cortese) together. They hooked up the night before and now they are having a very awkward morning after. She just found out that he has a fiancé and she is the other girl in the situation. When a few guys approach them, Anthony demands that they give them their battery back. Of course, they deny and take this chance to launch an attack on them. They beat up and threaten to kill Anthony, meanwhile harassing Amber. When the guys come back, they see Anthony held at gun point and Amber is being raped. Upon this site, Josh is overtaken by rage and lets it get the best of him as he shoots the rapist on impulse. Daniel tries to save him knowing that self defense doesn’t mean anything anymore and they will all go to jail for what Josh did just for being there. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, it becomes obvious that this is a lost cause. It just so happens that this man had a gang of vicious friends, the scorpion gang, who are capable of much worse than what was done to Anthony and Amber earlier. As far as the gang is concerned, a war has been waged and it is one they intend to win. They try to make a bargain by saying there is only one they truly want to kill, but soon enough it is clear that they won’t stop until every one of them is dead.

The cast widely enhances the film and compliments it in nearly every way. Rider Strong has been doing a lot of these disaster type of horror films with Cabin Fever, Tooth and Nail, Borderland, and now this. Many of these, but particularly Borderland show this partying gone wrong in a situation where survival is grim, but still strived for. Since a few of his most recent films weren’t the greatest, my hopes were lowered for Death Valley slightly. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this. Strong captured his character well and added a voice of reason, even if there was no one to listen to it. I hope Rider Strong continues with horror, but still tries to find something different and unique after this. Eric Christian Olson did very well as the lead too. Especially in his moments of crisis, he hits just the right key and shows what guilt and fear can do. I really enjoyed Jennifer Cortese. She showed a strength regardless of her weakening state. Her best moment is when she is talking to Brick, who without medical attention will die. She completely exposes herself and we realize that she is just a kid. The first risk she has taken turns in to what will most likely be the very death of her before she has even really been given a chance to live. Bumper Robinson and Wayne Young both did very well as the friends who are trying to find a way outside of death and one who can only sit there in misery and pain and watch it all fall down.

The film claims to be based on a true story. If this is the case, it is only very vaguely so. The directors went to desert parties themselves so most likely it is something that they envisioned or picked up on from being there. The film is rated R for the rape scene and drugs. While the overall violence is part of this, it is not all that big of a factor. There is some blood in the film, but it is kept to a low level. Adding more might have made it a bit more intense, but overall I was happy that they didn’t rely on the gore to make the film as many horror film fall in this trap today. Death Valley does a lot of things well. It really makes the desert a character in itself. Isolation is surrounding them aside from the gang that is coming in on them. Still, civilization seems so far off and almost impossible to reach. Even when they attempt to get help, you have to question weather there is anyone around that doesn’t have a connection with the scorpion gang. In this place that is very much foreign to them, they are forced to assume that no one can be trusted. If they make the mistake of doing so, it may be the last thing that they do.

For awhile, the kids are hiding in a cave, making it their safety net. They know they can only stay there for so long. If they want any hope of survival, they will have to leave the safe zone and take their chances against those that have made it their mission to kill. In the gang itself there is quite a bit of manipulation by the leader. He forces the wounded member’s younger brother to stick with them to kill like savages. He tries to moralize it, but in the end morals have nothing to do with it. Not only does he use guilt, and the memory against him, making him in to a murder himself, but he threatens everyone with the promise to burn their houses down and kill the rest of their families. With someone who just lost a brother who he clearly looked up to, family is all he can think of and so becomes something he has no respect for to protect his family. Death Valley is a pretty simple story but is carried by the terrific acting and uses elements of power, fear, survival, and a loss of innocence resulting in a very enjoyable film while doing so. Even the tag line alone is reflective on the film and surely worth a smile, as it is “One Hell of A Trip”.