TIFF 2021 Review: ‘DASHCAM’ Has Moments Horror Fans will Enjoy But Is Largely Dissatisfying

Rob Savage’s follow-up to “Host” (2020), “DASHCAM,“ is an anarchic disappointment. It has the bloody brigades for gorehounds, except it is haunted by poor camerawork and a completely unlikeable main character. 

While everyone was in lockdown, a horror film came out of the blue and surprised us all, even with a technique that has failed several times; that movie was Rob Savage’s “Host.” It dealt with a group of friends locked down in their house, who joined for a Zoom call to chat and do some conjurings. However, as one might expect, things turn sideways. The demon they conjured is picking them off one by one. 

It was effective and combined with the dread everyone was feeling during those times, it excelled and uplifted everyone’s expectations. With crafty but straightforward maneuvers, quippy editing, and likable characters. The story wasn’t that well developed, yet it didn’t have to because it had us hooked either way. Now, he comes back with yet another lockdown-based film, like his previous work. We were all excited; I was looking forward to seeing it. However, once I did see it, I was filled with anger and complete disappointment. 

A musician always doing live streams suffers from depression in her Los Angeles apartment ever since the pandemic started. One day, she decides to head to London, England, to stay with her former bandmate. Things grow uncomfortable when she starts being rude to his employees; she is selfish and incites terrible behavior. When she steals her ex-bandmate’s car, she gets an opportunity for some big money; however, there is a catch. The person she goes to transport isn’t what she thinks. A horrific escape across the English countryside starts, and she is live streaming it for everyone to see.

This was better than “Spree” (2020) because it was up its own self and very self-important, but most importantly, cringy. “DASHCAM” isn’t far from it anyways. It has rude and terrible dialogue, filled with curse words like a teenager learning them for the first time, repeatedly saying them every second. The problem as a whole isn’t the crude demeanor; it is that it all comes from one single person: the main character. This film’s main character is one of the most annoying, horribly mannered, and vexing characters in quite a while. 

I am not getting into her politics because they are a thing to worry about. She is an unsympathetic COVID denier. It is at the same level as Jar Jar Binks from “Star Wars.” Scratch that; she’s even more infuriating. It only took five minutes for her character to get on my nerves. It may seem effective as that might have been the director’s purpose, I beg to differ. The script couldn’t have been that terrible. “Host” didn’t have the best script imaginable, albeit it made compelling characters that we could connect with. This doesn’t have that; we hate her. 

Enough about her. Let’s get into the horror aspects. Its thrills come in both ways, good and bad. As mentioned before, there are moments for the gorehounds. Blood flowing through one’s mouth, munching bare necks, yucky foot action like in Ben Wheatley’s “In the Earth (2021),” and breaking arms most brutally. “DASHCAM” is violent and not afraid to do such things. It hits like a shock freight train by giving hit by hit and pints of red splatters. The problem with those moments, which are the film’s main attraction, is that the camerawork is very poor. 

You can’t seem to catch a glimpse of what’s happening because of the shaky-cam techniques. The cinematography is supposed to interpret the effect of being the audience of a live stream. You see what the host of the live sees; everything is from their perspective, but it never finds its footing. Since they are running most of the time, everything looks scratchy and off-kilter. Like all modern “found-footage” pictures (it’s in quotes because this isn’t technically one, albeit, in essence, it is), this is inspired by “The Blair Witch Project” (1999). 

I am not a fan of that film, yet I admit that its cinematography and atmosphere work quite well. On the contrary, “DASHCAM’s” atmosphere is always rowdy and loud, with no reason for it to be like that. In the end, it never gels. It’s gore with no substance, and thanks to its lead character, quite frustrating. It is difficult to take seriously, unlike his previous venture. As disappointing as it can be, it has its moments of insanity that horror fans will enjoy; I certainly enjoyed a couple of them. I’m looking forward to seeing what Rob Savage brings next to the table, but this one was dissatisfying.

This review of “DASHCAM” is written from its screening at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).