Product: Detour [VHS] (1945)
Rating: 5.0
Dynamite!
Nihilistic loser Tom Neal makes a series of plausible, yet bad, decisions that lead to the downward spiral of his life. He protests wildly that he had no choice, but don't believe him for a minute. Ann Savage is the feral woman who tries to take advantage of both Mr. Neal and a bad situation. She is one of the most interesting villains in film, as she vacillates between kittenish seduction and when rebuffed, viperish castrating nastiness. The film has an excellent cheapy look to it: it's the "black and whitest" movie ever. It also has the most gristly murder ever not shown on film. It's a strange kind of existential film, to be sure. Excellent, thought provoking and chilling.