Hey gang, Valkor here. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of zombies, and I’ve stressed that throughout the site, on many related articles. Though you might find a win here and there, make no mistake, I’m not a fan of zombies. I’m especially not a fan of “The Walking Dead” (but I like the games) or any film that tries to be like it. The next film on the TOV chopping block, Breakdown Lane, has all the markings of something that wants to be like “The Walking Dead”, but it makes one mistake that dips it into the pile of fail.
“Breakdown Lane” centers on a young woman named Kirby (Whitney Moore), who is off on a little road trip adventure to see her boo Vincent (Aric Cushing). Unfortunately, her car breaks down and even worse, it’s right in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Her only lifeline of hope throughout her struggle to survive is a lone voice through her NorthStar communication device named Max (Stephen Tyler Howell). She also meets a man named Ezekiel, who is a zombie wrangling bad ass. Sadly, he doesn’t make it as he’s taken out by his own hands from carrying too big of a burden on his shoulders. Moving on, Kirby’s boyfriend Vincent is taken out and now all Kirby wants to do is make it to Max and see him out alive to see his family. She’s able to make it to him and the surviving members of his team. But soon after she finds him he's bitten. And now Kirby is left to try and survive on her own… along with a new found puppy.
The title “Breakdown Lane” would have played off well had the film followed a budding relationship between Kirby and the NorthStar guy. Sadly, things go in an entirely different direction. And that definitely hurts the film along with a couple of errors along the way. And I'll explain further in the TOV Breakdown.
The Good:
N/A
The Bad:
I really wanted to like “Breakdown Lane” and indeed I started off actually enjoying the first half of the film. My first problem with the film is the time when the zombie apocalypse actually happens. It would appear to be an overnight event, but Kirby meets people along the way who make it seem as if it’s been happening over a long period of time. So, if this is going down at the moment then why doesn’t Vincent know about it since he lives in the city and would probably have heard about it on the news? But if it’s been going down for awhile then why isn’t ANYONE aware of what’s going on? Now my biggest gripe with the film is when Kirby gets bitten but doesn’t turn. So, when Max gets bitten he starts to turn straight away, but when Kirby gets bitten she has time to build a fire and cauterize her skin to stop the infection. But given the time it took just to build the fire, shouldn’t the infection already be coursing through her body? Yea, that threw me right out of the rest of the film.
The Ugly:
N/A
“Breakdown Lane” is available now on DVD and digital video. And while the film leans towards “The Walking Dead” crowd, I’d suggest sticking with the series and giving this one a pass. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Kirby hadn’t been bitten. But since she was, it just ruins the rest of the film. So, out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving “Breakdown Lane” a 2.
