Curve

Curve casts Julianne Hough as Mallory Rutledge, a young woman driving towards her wedding whose decision to pick up a charming hitchhiker (Teddy Sears’ Christian) ultimately has disastrous consequences. It’s a decidedly familiar premise that’s employed to alternatingly dull and enthralling effect by filmmaker Iain Softley, as the movie boasts strong first and third acts but a midsection that palpably drags – with the emphasis, during the latter stretch, placed almost entirely on Mallory’s solo exploits as she’s trapped within the confines of a flipped SUV. This is despite a fairly strong opening that benefits substantially from an undercurrent of suspense and tension (ie it’s obvious that Sears’ character is up to something but what exactly?), with the promising vibe heightened by the better-than-expected performances from both Hough and Sears. (The latter is just about dripping with smarm and malevolence.) And while the aforementioned middle section of the proceedings tests one’s patience, Curve bounces back with a tremendously entertaining climactic stretch that’s as silly as it is engaging – as Softley, working from Kimberly Lofstrom Johnson and Lee Patterson’s screenplay, abandons any pretense of plausibility and offers up a gloriously broad final half hour that ensures that the movie does end on an exceedingly positive note. (It’s impossible not to wish, ultimately, that the remainder of Curve had been similarly over the top.)

*** out of ****