Fender Bender (2016) d. Pavia, Mark (USA) (91 min)
Following his auspicious feature debut, a much-lauded screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Night Flier in 1997, we’ve heard precious little from writer/director Pavia until now. All the more regretful that his return to the genre is a relatively routine slasher flick, featuring a mild-mannered creep (Bill Sage) who bumps into unsuspecting motorists at stop signs, exchanges information with them, and then murders them later in their homes.
It’s a novel enough thriller premise, but the majority of the running time is squandered in the company of his latest quarry, screaming teen mimi Hilary (Mackenzie Vega) and her obnoxious friends hiding out at home, looking out windows, and just being generally ineffective at anything other than being annoying.
Sage is a fantastic actor (We Are What We Are, any number of Hal Hartley features), so it’s unfortunate he spends nearly the entire feature encased in a fire suit and mask (unless that’s just his stuntman stand-in, in which case it’s doubly unfortunate), and one can’t help but wish Vega (The Good Wife, Sin City) had been given more to do than the standard scared-victim-turned-Final Girl arc.
In the end, Fender Bender is a capable stalk-n-slash outing that passes the time without sticking long in the grill of your gray matter.
BONUS FEATURES:
“Retro VHS” version of the film in which you can watch the film in a re-created mode that takes you back to the 1980's and the heyday of VCRs
“Slashback” Trailer Reel – A Collection Of Vintage Scream Factory-branded Slasher Previews
Director's Commentary
Producer's Commentary
Behind-The-Scenes Featurette
Original Trailer and TV Spot
Fender Bender is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and IFC Midnight and can be ordered HERE:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/fender-bender?product_id=4748
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