A group of students sharing a car to various destinations has a tire blow-out that leaves them stranded. Soon they discover that this was not an accident and they are now in grave danger.
Written by Joey O’Bryan and Ryûhei Kitamura with the latter also directing, Downrange is a tense, one location thriller that grabs the viewer early on and doesn’t let go until the end credits roll. For fans of Kitamura, this is a return to sources, to his earlier style of having a story set in one location and making it a tense experience for all involved. This, here, is very successful and works like a charm in the desolate location on a road in the middle of nowhere. This setting works really well here and the collection of characters and how they came to be together adds to the tension and mystery. The film uses the fact that there are many unknowns to work in its favor. The situation is tense enough on its own but the way the characters interact and are portrayed make it work even better.
