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Octane

AKA's: Octane - O Caminho Do Mal / Pulse




Release date: 2003 UK/Luxembourg
Running time: 87' (cover 87') - Source: DVD (RC 2/PAL)
Rating: Germ.: 16; UK: 15; US: R
Main Crew: Director: Marcus Adams (Long Time Dead 2002)
Producer: Four Horsemen Films / Harvest Pictures / Deluxe Productions
Score: Simon Boswell / Orbital
Writer: Stephen Volk
Director of photography: Robin Vidgeon

Cast:


Summary: On a lonely freeway late one night, Senga (Madeleine Stowe - We Were Soldiers ) and teenage daughter Nat (Mischa Barton - The O.C. ) have a long journey home ahead of them. As they travel through the darkness they encounter a series of surreal sights - a vacation couple photographing the debris of a car crash, a baby crawling in the middle of the highway, and a tow-truck driver (Norman Reedus - The Boondock Saints ) trawling the night waiting for accidents to happen. Breaking from their trip and its nightmarish visions, they meet a mysterious backpacker at a rest stop (Bijou Phillips - Bully ) who entices Nat away with the promise of freedom and a new life with a young blood-lusting cult, whose sexy charismatic leader, "The Father" (Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Velvet Goldmine, Ride With The Devil ), possesses supernatural powers. With her maternal instincts kicked into overdrive, Senga gives chase into a deranged world where she must confront nightmares from her past in order to save her daughter.
Note: - Television commercial director and music video maker Marcus Adams directs this U.K. thriller, which was shot entirely in Luxembourg, and which premiered in the U.S. at the 2003 CineVegas International Film Festival.
- The movie was renamed Pulse for its video release, as the producers feared that Octane would imply car chases.
- The idea of vampires posing as the emergency services living off human road-kill took shape in 1995 when writer Stephen Volk saw a woman and her 12 year old daughter sitting at a table at the Membury Services and thought "Who are these people here at 3AM?". But director Marcus Adams said that the characters must be young, cool and hip to hit the horror teen market, so the vulnerable 12 year old girl was made a 15 year old brat (hence the writer's original concept that this was the night of the child's first period, a catalyst for the vampires, went out the window). Furthermore, one lead character from the original script was cut entirely due to a piece of miscasting.


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Our Ranking





short review:

With its great camerawork, magnificent soundtrack and very stylish pictures , I rather liked the movie. The story too, was quite interesting and reminded me at first of "The Vanishing" (1993) with Kiefer Sutherland. One does never know, if this is really happening and Senga (Madeleine Stowe) is part of an obscure conspiracy, or if those occurences aren't just imaginations of an always stressed mother who eats pills like candies. Another rather interesting occurence, are those allusions by "The Father", the charismatic cultis-leader, on Sengas past. However, this is were the drawbacks are: From where does he know those things? This is never revealed, although it is quite important for the ongoing plot. Likewise is the metamorphosis of Senga from a slightly psychotic, mother to a sort of "Lara Croft" "fightress"� how should I say� astounding? (On the other hand, doesn't one say, that mothers become hyenas when it's about their children� who knows?) If the plot had been more worked out, something very awesome could have been done with the storyline.



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