The film's title is about the backroads of America, but it is also about the backroads of the human mind. On the surface, "What Lies Ahead" is a road picture. But at its heart, it is a troubling depiction of bloodthirst and revenge.
The beginning of the film seems straightforward as a surgeon in New York named Kyle sends his fiancé Jessica to Georgia to help his sister Raven drive back to New York following the death of their mother. But instead of driving the freeways, Raven wants to take the backroads, and that is the first ominous moment of the trip. Raven is driving a sedan with the ironic personalized license plate of KITTEN.
When Jessica and Raven hit the road, the early experiences of Jessica's missing cell phone, driving off from a roadside stand without paying for burgers, and Raven's troubling attempt to convince a man in a bar that Jessica is attracted to him, set the stage for the major twist of the film: Raven has killed Kyle's sister after he dumped her. Raven blames Jessica for the break-up, and she now plans a diabolical vengeance scenario worthy of Medea.
The film is successful in developing the sinister elements of Raven, and it builds carefully to its climax. Unfortunately, it falls apart at the end with an unsatisfactory and highly unbelievable denouement.
The film developed the protagonist of Raven as a monster, but was unable to deliver on its promise with a vague and inconclusive ending. Were the filmmakers thinking that there would a sequel of the ongoing saga of the Kitten from Hell?
The beginning of the film seems straightforward as a surgeon in New York named Kyle sends his fiancé Jessica to Georgia to help his sister Raven drive back to New York following the death of their mother. But instead of driving the freeways, Raven wants to take the backroads, and that is the first ominous moment of the trip. Raven is driving a sedan with the ironic personalized license plate of KITTEN.
When Jessica and Raven hit the road, the early experiences of Jessica's missing cell phone, driving off from a roadside stand without paying for burgers, and Raven's troubling attempt to convince a man in a bar that Jessica is attracted to him, set the stage for the major twist of the film: Raven has killed Kyle's sister after he dumped her. Raven blames Jessica for the break-up, and she now plans a diabolical vengeance scenario worthy of Medea.
The film is successful in developing the sinister elements of Raven, and it builds carefully to its climax. Unfortunately, it falls apart at the end with an unsatisfactory and highly unbelievable denouement.
The film developed the protagonist of Raven as a monster, but was unable to deliver on its promise with a vague and inconclusive ending. Were the filmmakers thinking that there would a sequel of the ongoing saga of the Kitten from Hell?