Directed by Daniel Carsenty (Berlinale Talents alums, After Spring Comes Fall), Corey Slater (The Box) wrote One for the Road. The script is based on a short story by Stephen King. King gave the team the right to use his story to create their film. Carsenty reached out to King to help him transition from documentarian to horror filmmaker, and he wants to use narrative to tell the same stories about the darkness of humanity that he did in his documentaries.
About: One for the Road is the story of two movers who help a waitress deal with a scary customer in the middle of the night. When a stranger (Richard Clarke Larsen) ambles into a roadside diner in the dead of night, two friendly Samaritans, Took (Travis Hammer) and co-worker Booth (Alexander Flores), prove no good deed goes unpunished.
The film stars Travis Hammer (“Godless” TV miniseries, “Big Sky” TV series), Alexander Flores (The Maze Runner, 2014/2015), Katie Adler (“Sorry, Ari” TV series and “Jane the Virgin” TV series, Richard Clarke Larsen (“Red Ruby” TV series).
All the actors listed above gave solid performances, given a diverse range of acting credits in their respective careers. I am impressed by their skills in the nine-minute short and would certainly like to see this should it be developed into a feature film.
I am surprised about the PG rating on this festival’s film information, as a couple of scenes towards the end would make me think this “Midnighter” is not so “child friendly.”
The film had its World Premiere at the LA Shorts Film Festival and its West Coast premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival in the Midnight Madness Block at the TCL Chinese Theater. For more current information and future screenings, visit the film website. I think the Fantastic Fest audience would like it next month here in Austin, but hopefully, there will be additional screenings in the coming months.
Source: Hollyshorts Film Festival, Film Independent