If you attended Fantastic Fest 2022, you may have watched a film with the original title of H4Z4RD when it made the North American premiere. If you missed it at the festival, this is the opportunity to view DJ Mag’s #1 DJ in the world, Dimitri “Vegas” Thivaios, who stars as an action hero in this action-comedy film. Directed by Jonas Govaerts from a script by Trent Haaga, it may not be the original premise of “going for a ride” and things going wrong, but it certainly has some unexpected scenes that made me jump up from my chair. I knew from watching the film part way that this had the things that repeat Fantastic Fest fans have come to enjoy and the newcomers to the festival talk about, over and over.
Thivaios stars as Noah Hazard, who takes his cousin Carlos for a spin in his beloved vehicle. He is an expert driver, and there are many scenes in which he displays said skills. He gets caught up in a deadly driving job that threatens the three things he loves most: his girlfriend, Lea (Jennifer Heylen), his daughter, Zita (Mila Rooms), and his car.
At this point in Noah and Lea’s relationship, they talk about buying a house in the country (anywhere but near her mother and the big city). Noah’s lack of money and his hustle, including gambling, are not stable enough to make this dream come true.
Noah’s cousin, Carlos (Jeroen Perceval), has done three years and returns to the rat race. Noah gives Carlos a ride to meet a guy, Kludde (Frank Lammers), since he is the connection to scoring some fast money. Of course, to Noah’s surprise, Carlos does not divulge all the details when he is told to honk the horn at a specific time.
At this point, the audience knows why Carlos needs his cousin—those driving skills were needed for this ride—and the rest of the film is constant action, obstacle after obstacle. The stakes get higher and higher when he is not fast enough to pick up his daughter from school.
One mention of an obstacle is when a security guard arrives at the scene where Noah and Carlos are leaving Kludde after leaving the home of Ms. Brasschaat (Monic Hendrickx). He will let them go from that private property on one condition. I was surprised to learn what would come right after their deal with him. The rest of the story is left undescribed for the audience to experience.
All the cast work so well together. Thivaios sold me on the character Noah, both as a dad and when he must do all he can to survive what Carlos has involved him in. Perceval is hilarious in some scenes, and the audience can identify with possibly hating the cousin for what he has done to Noah. Carlos is blissful in his ignorance.
Run time: One hour and 28 minutes.
Arrives in theaters May 10th and check your local theaters (Austin and beyond) for showtimes.
Source: Samuel Goldwyn Films