100 Miles to Midnight is a film by Ryan V. Meade which was brought to my attention by Tom Sullivan while I was interviewing him at Cinema Wasteland in 2009 (You can view that interview here.) Intrigued, I decided to snatch it up and give it a spin, because the word of Tom Sullivan is worth his weight in gold.

 

Inspired by old Grindehouse exploitation films, 100 Miles to Midnight is a series of short films compiled together around a central story. Reminiscent of Twilight Zone - The Movie , 100 Miles follows two friends (John Shano and Matt Schulman)  traveling on the road for a midnight rendezvous with a reputable drug dealer for a big score that they intend to bring to a party they are attending. With 100 miles to travel and a midnight deadline looming, the two men pass the time by telling each other stories about local people they know. These tales are comprised of the previously mentioned short films that make up the majority of the movie.

 

The first short tale is called "The Traveler" which is about a Russian mail order bride (played by the beauteous Yelena Kondratyeva) who lands in the state of Michigan to meet up with her future husband. With no ride to get from the airport to her intended destination she stops in a local bar and asks the bar tender to ask one of her "trust worthy" patrons (played by James Ramos) if they can give her a ride. The man agrees to give the girl a ride to where she is going, obviously in the hopes that perhaps she can provide him with a few favors for his trouble. Expecting this, the girl easily seduces him into stopping at his place for some behind-the-barn coitus. However, instead of getting laid he is emasculated in the most brutal and fatal way possible (I won't spoil it for you, check it out for yourself.) After which she showers, and steals his car and rides the rest of the way to her new husbands home -- Hubby-soon to be is a man confined to a wheelchair, who is more impressed at the young woman's beauty (which was given no justice on the website) completely unaware of the events of hours previous. The scene fades out, his fate left uncertain to all except for any imaginative viewers who may ponder it.

 

The next story is titled "Mikey" is obviously about a guy named Mikey (played by Mike Barcome) who's hobbies include victimizing and murdering women he lures to his house. After his latest paid of victims the night before, Mikey goes through his daily routine before going out and luring another fresh victim. The girl he convinces to go home with him ends up being knocked out, and is bound and gagged and stuffed into his trunk for later. He next calls for two escort girls (Gabrielle Morris & Kristen Dudek) who, unknown to Mikey, intend on robbing him of his possessions when they have him compromised. As they are working, one of the girls discovers Mikey's collection of torture devices and before anyone knows it strikes at Mikey. Explaining the situation to her colleague, the two call girls decide to rob Mikey anyway and get out of there. They drive away, unknowingly leaving Mikey's other intended victim still tied up in the trunk of his car.

 

The next story, titled "W.W.J.D.?" stars Tom Sullivan, who plays the role of a devoutly religious man who runs an insurance company that is going out of business. Every night when he comes home, he goes down into the basement with blood soaked food (such as steak and bread) to feed to his daughter (Melissa Greendstein) whom he has shackled in a cage. "For very good reason!" exclaimed Tom Sullivan while he was talking about the film during our interview. He is absolutely correct, however, much like Tom's nosy neighbor in the short (played by Pat Reese) you will have to venture into the basement and find out for yourself.

 

The last short is called "Zombie Jesus" finds it's genesis when our main characters indulge in their last joint, completely unaware that it has been laced with P.C.P. This leads the driver to tell a drug field tale about Jesus rising from the grave as a zombie in "modern day Jerusalem" (No, really, it totally is) to get revenge on the ancestor of a man who's heckling is what the Son of God blames led to his crucifixion. This sequence evolves into a comedic homage to the old poorly dubbed drive-in Kung Fu movies from the 70's, complete with tightly edited fight choreography and over exaggerated sound effects.

 

As the movie winds to it's conclusion, it has a twist ending I will leave you to discover on your own. All I will say is that it involves a George W. Bush mask, a dirt trench and breaking the fourth wall.

 

100 Miles to Midnight is a fun film, and is an entertaining homage to the Grindhouse genre. Although the film is shot in digital, them maker of the film take pains to digitally insert "film flaws" such as scratches, audio pops, "missing reels" and parts where the "film" seemingly gets caught and burns up on the "projector." This is not nearly as extensive as say Planet Terror or Death Proof , but it is still a novel addition to the film. Adding to the Grindhouse film they obviously took advantage of some of the pitfalls of filming in digital, the big one being lighting. By filming scenes using natural lighting, with minimal to no white balancing, 100 Miles has the appearance of a film that has that look like they are either under or over exposed film.

 

The short stories are tight and focused, giving the audience a postage stamp view of these characters lives. Excessive exposition and character development is not required and the story is so excellently written that you won't be wondering what the hell is going on. However, they are good at the hook and they arm it with some pretty big barbs, because as each short ends you can't help but wonder what will happen to the characters after the segment is over. Yes, the story hooks you in just enough to establish your undivided attention and then tosses you away at just the right time. At no time do any of the stories plot or carry on overly long. It's face paced and it goes full speed ahead at a constant rate until the very end of the film.

 

It's a fun little film and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Grindhouse films that want an easy watch that doesn't take itself too seriously. Plus, Tom Sullivan will thank you for it.