Directed by Cody Ashford and starring Whit Kunschik and Zack Gold, Drive Back is among the wide variety of genre films among the Discover Screens at FrightFest 2024. Olivia (Kunschik) and Reid (Gold) are expecting a baby and just got engaged to be married. They seem to have a perfect life, But after their engagement party at Reid's parents' luxury cabin in the woods, they try to take an unfamiliar route home. They stop for directions at a mom-and-pop convenience store, and the owners convince them to take a shortcut that's not on any modern map. However, genre-savvy horror fans will guess that the shortcut isn't so short, and they end up fighting for their lives.

On the surface, Drive Back is an effective horror film about getting lost in the woods, and the evil that lurks there. Dig a little deeper, and it's about relationships of all kinds – romantic, familial, and otherwise – and the secrets we keep from loved ones to keep the relationship functioning. It explores the pain of trying to get comfortable in a new stage of life, while at the same time just wanting to go back to what's familiar. But it's not just using allegory and metaphor – the horror is very much on-screen. Reid was raised by a father who valued hunting, survival, and self-sufficiency, but Reid was afraid of death and didn't want to learn. Whatever skills he may have gleaned in childhood are put to the test on this road trip.

Most of the film takes place either while the couple is in the car, or while they are in the surrounding woods. The scenes in the car are uncomfortably close, and the viewer can feel that the characters want more space. In the woods, the scenery is beautiful but unsettling. It's clearly an old forest, with tall, thick trees that provide many places to hide. Viewers will be scanning the background, looking for threats in the woods, even when the characters aren't.

Drive Back is an unsettling but surprisingly touching film about finding a path forward with the one you love.

Drive Back had its UK premiere at FrightFest 2024 on Friday, August 23.

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