In short: Downrange (2017)

A car full of ridesharing young ‘uns (let’s just mention characters played by Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, Rod Hernandez and Anthony Kirlew) find themselves on a lonely desert country road after a surprise flat tire. Turns out the tire was blown by a rifle round, and soon enough, a hidden sniper begins murdering the kids one by one. Desperate plans as well as the usual bickering between the survivors who managed to get a car between themselves and the movement-averse sniper ensue.

Ryuhei Kitamura isn’t exactly the director I’d have in mind for what amounts to a one-location movie like Downrange, for sitting still for a longer amount of time and focussing on character interplay are pretty much the opposite of Kitamura’s talents, and never aspects of filmmaking the director showed much talent for or any interest in. For a time, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of restraint Kitamura showed, and his genuine attempts to not add further elements to the situation he has set up but instead let it play out naturally. Sure, there are a handful of completely unnecessary swirling tracking shots form on high, but for about half the film, this is indeed the tight, psychological film you’d expect from the set-up.

Alas, Kitamura loses patience then, and the whole thing turns into a completely ridiculous one-location thriller full of all the tackiness the director goes for at his worst. So expect amounts of blood and unpleasantness so high-pitched, things don’t become dark and unpleasant but simply ridiculous, Kitamura giving up on using any of the humanity he provided his characters with in any sensible way once the bodily fluids really start spurting.


This really is a film crying out for a careful and focussed 70s-inspired director. Kitamura even seems to agree, given how the film’s final plot development so clearly wants to be a 70s downer ending. In truth, it only ends up being ridiculous, cartoonish and plain silly nonsense, Downrange and its director simply lacking the interest in their characters as human beings you need to pull this sort of thing off.