Having grown up in the 1970’s when pay cable subscriptions were truly in their infancy, I experienced a great number of the gloriously depraved grindhouse effects.
You see, an outlet like Home Box Office back then had to kinda/sorta search high and low for “content” (as it’s now known) to fill out a 24-hour line-up. Movies weren’t exactly in huge supply – certainly not like they are today – and, as a result, the channel programmers would invest time in small, unknown efforts that lacked the box office potential to get full theatrical release (except, maybe, in drive-ins and secondary outlets) knowing that something was needed to fill time between notable marquee hits. In the 1980’s, this same strategy was used to line countless shelves of the corner video store; but – in the late 70’s – premium subscription was where a great degree of schlock went to live – as opposed to die. Since this was all there was, most subscribers tuned in until they lost interest, and such was life.
That’s why a little something-something like Trucker (2024) still resonates with some who are willing to invest in its lean and (modestly) mean 80-minute running time. One glance at its trailer pretty much gives away the premise; and viewers show up largely aware of what they’re going to receive. Rarely are such features groundbreaking. More often than not, they may not even make a lot of sense. But like comfort food they can still fill a belly (or a brain) with enough substance to both go down easily and avoid indigestion. Relax, folks, because you’ll likely not remember it next week … and yet for now? It’s palatable.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A trucker's family is killed in a fiery crash caused by a group of reckless teens. Rescued from the wreckage and nursed back to health by a mysterious old man, the trucker exacts brutal revenge on the teens who destroyed his life.”
On a dark, desert highway, a group of Ridgeland High School’s least brightest are joyriding in the dark attempting to do the thing their driving instructor likely warned them never to do: passing on a curve, they escape sudden death by lurching in front of a barreling semi-truck, unintentionally forcing its nameless and faceless operator to swerve over an embankment and into the valley below. The hauler explodes into flames, killing the female passenger and her two children … but the father – thrown clear – lies facedown in the dirt. The teenagers do come back to check on the man only long enough for one of the young degenerates to urinate on the trucker, thinking that man doesn’t have long to live.
Of course, this was only their first mistake.
The bones of a flick like Trucker run deep through the body of cinema entertainment, and we – culturally – have seen hundreds if not thousands of revenge-style pictures with the same essential posture. Indeed, a case could be made that a significant number of grindhouse and/or exploitation films operate from the same starting point – rebellious or disrespectful persons do something particularly egregious, and the remainder of the story is the exploration into how “justice bloody justice” is finally achieved. Rest assured: you’ve likely seen something like Trucker before, and – because this stuff sells – you’re even more likely going to see it again. It’ll get repackaged into some other semblance, but – as I said – bones run deep in the genre for a reason.
As a great many Horrors require, the script from Steven Shaffer employs a ‘Final Girl’: Vanessa (the luminous Katherine Gibson) hasn’t slept all that well since she knows what they did last summer (snicker snicker), and it’s her personal commitment to closing that chapter of her sordid experience that swings open the cinematic door to violent payback. On her insistence to going back out there to find out definitively what happened to Jeff (the urinator was knocked down by a creepy old man who showed up on the scene of the accident and hasn’t been seen since), the old gang begrudgingly gets tossed back together for the adventure of a lifetime. Lo and behold, that old man just happened to nurse that seminal trucker (of the film’s title) back to health (well … somewhat); and the two of them have been biding their time knowing that those dastardly young rascals would be just dumb enough to return to the scene of their crime someday.
Disappointingly, director Errol Sack just never quite finds anything fresh or vibrant or technically interesting to say with any of this. If vengeance is a dish best served cold, then the table is set but nothing more. One by one, the teens meet their modestly grisly ends, though there are a few occasional flourishes of inspired cinematography (stark angles, grim settings, etc.) that keep the engine running though mostly in low gear. It could’ve been grand if such off-kilter camerawork was used exclusively because even that subtle tweak might’ve raised the stakes a bit more; but in a world of slim pickings the best one might hope for is to pass the time efficiently with minimal artistic predilections.
Erm …
Regular readers of SciFiHistory.Net know full well that I’m not one to nitpick; and yet a few gripes survive.
Trucker opens with an expansive scene of a wind farm, and a text overlay states that the story takes place in 1984-1985 in Arizona. Well … the problem here is that – ahem – there were no wind farms in Arizona (a quick search of Google.com can clarify that), so methinks someone in production scouting kinda/sorta jumped the gun on that point. Also, there’s a bit of narrative inefficiency in the film’s opening which should’ve been handled better: a survivor to the showdown with the Trucker is one who thankfully avoided any great interaction, and yet he’s shown in the set-up in a walking yet emotionally catatonic state. Frankly, he should’ve suffered a bit more in the course of the picture than what he did if we’re to believe he’s barely functional. Lastly, the editor – for reasons that escape me – employed an inordinate number of crossfades when hard cuts would’ve been much more effective. Sure, that might be an aesthetic issue, but it deserves mention, nonetheless.
Trucker (2024) was produced by Breaking Glass Pictures and ES Films. A quick Google.com search suggests that the film is available for consumption on a variety of streaming platforms. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that the picture is filled with sights and sounds one generally expects for the usual thriller or chiller. In fact, there’s some very good camera work – vivid angles here and there – that elevate some sequences, and such focus could’ve better served the project if it had been consistent throughout. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? As I viewed this one via streaming, there were no special features under consideration.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
As often happens when modern storytellers hope to recapture the magic of 70’s and 80’s grindhouse exploitation, Trucker (2024) isn’t strong enough to stand on its own two feet, borrowing way too much of its effort from things audiences have seen many times before. Shot digitally, it lacks the grimy veneer of those older yarns, so perhaps this one should’ve been mucked up just a bit. This doesn’t make it a bad experience because it functionally delivers on what few promises it makes (i.e. the villain achieves his goal and reputation while those who turned him into a monster suffer their respective comeuppances), but director Sack and his co-conspirators didn’t go far enough to distinguish the end product much less give anything here an air of distinctiveness. Like so many other grindhouse flicks, it’s best watched and forgotten; yet some of us still expect a bit more for our time and trouble.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Breaking Glass Pictures provided me with complimentary streaming access to Trucker (2024) by request for the purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
You see, an outlet like Home Box Office back then had to kinda/sorta search high and low for “content” (as it’s now known) to fill out a 24-hour line-up. Movies weren’t exactly in huge supply – certainly not like they are today – and, as a result, the channel programmers would invest time in small, unknown efforts that lacked the box office potential to get full theatrical release (except, maybe, in drive-ins and secondary outlets) knowing that something was needed to fill time between notable marquee hits. In the 1980’s, this same strategy was used to line countless shelves of the corner video store; but – in the late 70’s – premium subscription was where a great degree of schlock went to live – as opposed to die. Since this was all there was, most subscribers tuned in until they lost interest, and such was life.
That’s why a little something-something like Trucker (2024) still resonates with some who are willing to invest in its lean and (modestly) mean 80-minute running time. One glance at its trailer pretty much gives away the premise; and viewers show up largely aware of what they’re going to receive. Rarely are such features groundbreaking. More often than not, they may not even make a lot of sense. But like comfort food they can still fill a belly (or a brain) with enough substance to both go down easily and avoid indigestion. Relax, folks, because you’ll likely not remember it next week … and yet for now? It’s palatable.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A trucker's family is killed in a fiery crash caused by a group of reckless teens. Rescued from the wreckage and nursed back to health by a mysterious old man, the trucker exacts brutal revenge on the teens who destroyed his life.”
On a dark, desert highway, a group of Ridgeland High School’s least brightest are joyriding in the dark attempting to do the thing their driving instructor likely warned them never to do: passing on a curve, they escape sudden death by lurching in front of a barreling semi-truck, unintentionally forcing its nameless and faceless operator to swerve over an embankment and into the valley below. The hauler explodes into flames, killing the female passenger and her two children … but the father – thrown clear – lies facedown in the dirt. The teenagers do come back to check on the man only long enough for one of the young degenerates to urinate on the trucker, thinking that man doesn’t have long to live.
Of course, this was only their first mistake.
The bones of a flick like Trucker run deep through the body of cinema entertainment, and we – culturally – have seen hundreds if not thousands of revenge-style pictures with the same essential posture. Indeed, a case could be made that a significant number of grindhouse and/or exploitation films operate from the same starting point – rebellious or disrespectful persons do something particularly egregious, and the remainder of the story is the exploration into how “justice bloody justice” is finally achieved. Rest assured: you’ve likely seen something like Trucker before, and – because this stuff sells – you’re even more likely going to see it again. It’ll get repackaged into some other semblance, but – as I said – bones run deep in the genre for a reason.
As a great many Horrors require, the script from Steven Shaffer employs a ‘Final Girl’: Vanessa (the luminous Katherine Gibson) hasn’t slept all that well since she knows what they did last summer (snicker snicker), and it’s her personal commitment to closing that chapter of her sordid experience that swings open the cinematic door to violent payback. On her insistence to going back out there to find out definitively what happened to Jeff (the urinator was knocked down by a creepy old man who showed up on the scene of the accident and hasn’t been seen since), the old gang begrudgingly gets tossed back together for the adventure of a lifetime. Lo and behold, that old man just happened to nurse that seminal trucker (of the film’s title) back to health (well … somewhat); and the two of them have been biding their time knowing that those dastardly young rascals would be just dumb enough to return to the scene of their crime someday.
Disappointingly, director Errol Sack just never quite finds anything fresh or vibrant or technically interesting to say with any of this. If vengeance is a dish best served cold, then the table is set but nothing more. One by one, the teens meet their modestly grisly ends, though there are a few occasional flourishes of inspired cinematography (stark angles, grim settings, etc.) that keep the engine running though mostly in low gear. It could’ve been grand if such off-kilter camerawork was used exclusively because even that subtle tweak might’ve raised the stakes a bit more; but in a world of slim pickings the best one might hope for is to pass the time efficiently with minimal artistic predilections.
Erm …
Regular readers of SciFiHistory.Net know full well that I’m not one to nitpick; and yet a few gripes survive.
Trucker opens with an expansive scene of a wind farm, and a text overlay states that the story takes place in 1984-1985 in Arizona. Well … the problem here is that – ahem – there were no wind farms in Arizona (a quick search of Google.com can clarify that), so methinks someone in production scouting kinda/sorta jumped the gun on that point. Also, there’s a bit of narrative inefficiency in the film’s opening which should’ve been handled better: a survivor to the showdown with the Trucker is one who thankfully avoided any great interaction, and yet he’s shown in the set-up in a walking yet emotionally catatonic state. Frankly, he should’ve suffered a bit more in the course of the picture than what he did if we’re to believe he’s barely functional. Lastly, the editor – for reasons that escape me – employed an inordinate number of crossfades when hard cuts would’ve been much more effective. Sure, that might be an aesthetic issue, but it deserves mention, nonetheless.
Trucker (2024) was produced by Breaking Glass Pictures and ES Films. A quick Google.com search suggests that the film is available for consumption on a variety of streaming platforms. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that the picture is filled with sights and sounds one generally expects for the usual thriller or chiller. In fact, there’s some very good camera work – vivid angles here and there – that elevate some sequences, and such focus could’ve better served the project if it had been consistent throughout. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? As I viewed this one via streaming, there were no special features under consideration.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
As often happens when modern storytellers hope to recapture the magic of 70’s and 80’s grindhouse exploitation, Trucker (2024) isn’t strong enough to stand on its own two feet, borrowing way too much of its effort from things audiences have seen many times before. Shot digitally, it lacks the grimy veneer of those older yarns, so perhaps this one should’ve been mucked up just a bit. This doesn’t make it a bad experience because it functionally delivers on what few promises it makes (i.e. the villain achieves his goal and reputation while those who turned him into a monster suffer their respective comeuppances), but director Sack and his co-conspirators didn’t go far enough to distinguish the end product much less give anything here an air of distinctiveness. Like so many other grindhouse flicks, it’s best watched and forgotten; yet some of us still expect a bit more for our time and trouble.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Breaking Glass Pictures provided me with complimentary streaming access to Trucker (2024) by request for the purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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