Travel Down 'The Devil's Mile'

Upon reading the press release for the upcoming horror film "The Devil's Mile," I became a little surprised that it actually sounded like something fresh. It did not sound like every other recycled idea in the horror genre that we read about every day. As I skimmed through the release, I became even more impressed by the people attached to this project.

"The Devil's Mile" takes us on a journey with "a trio of kidnappers who take an ill-advised detour en route to deliver their hostages -- two teenage girls -- to their mysterious and powerful employer. When they accidentally kill one of the girls during a botched escape attempt, their simmering mistrust explodes into shocking violence. But what they thought was their worst-case scenario is only the beginning, as they are engulfed by the hellish forces that haunt the road -- a road they realize they may never escape. Now captors and captive must fight together to escape the monstrous forces pursuing them and somehow survive ...The Devil's Mile."

For some reason the first thing that popped into my head after reading this synopsis was, "Man, this sounds like a cross between 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Drive Angry.'" I may be completely off-base, but that is where my mind went. It is a pretty unique idea among our usual bombardment of zombies, mopey long-haired girls in white dresses, and vampires. The film is described by its promoters as "a relentlessly paced hybrid of gritty crime thriller and Lovecraftian supernatural horror."

The talent involved in "The Devil's Mile" is very impressive. First, David Hayter is one of the stars of the film. He is joined onscreen by actors Maria Del Mar and Casey Hudecki. The director of the movie is screenwriter Joseph O'Brien. Allan Cooke is doing special makeup and monster effects.

Hayter is primarily known as the screenwriter for "X-Men," "X-2: X-Men United," and "Watchmen." He also provides the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid video games. For "The Devil's Mile," he will be stepping in front of the camera to play the frightening enforcer of a mysterious crime lord. Maria Del Mar has been in the hit television show "24," as well as "Terminal City" and "Jekyll and Hyde." This is Casey Hudecki's first role in a film.

Director Joseph O'Brien is known for his work as a screenwriter and contributor to horror magazines Rue Morgue and Fangoria. He also wrote the scripts for "Robocop: Prime Directives" and Rue Morgue founder Rodrigo Gudino's remake of "Cut Throats Nine." This is his first feature film as a director.

Allan Cooke is no stranger to the world of horror and gore. He has provided his special makeup and monster effects to genre favorites like "Resident Evil: Afterlife," "Silent Hill," and "Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer." That should set people's minds at ease as to whether or not we can count on a realistic and bloody good time.

The "Devil's Mile" is currently in pre-production. There has been no announcement as to when the film will be released. Most likely it will not be finished until beginning to mid-2012.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

Interview with 'Cowboys & Aliens' Creator Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Interview with 'Drive Angry 3-D' Screenwriter and Actor Todd Farmer
Interview with '30 Days of Night' and 'Criminal Macabre' Creator Steve Niles

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