Downrange (2017) User Reviews (119)

Better than that

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 4 July 2018]

We are used to see better movies from Ryûhei Kitamura, so if like me you were a little bit excited to see he made a new one, you are excused if you afterwards you think: well that wasn't really that good. Heck, even if you are really dissapointed (knowing the director or not), it makes sense. What does not make sense is going completely insane and insulting the people involved.

This is not Shakespeare so you can't expect that level of script, dialog or even acting. That does not mean that the people involved are not capable or have not the capacity to gain and reach those heights. Now this is a fun little ride, that could have been more and admittedly gets annoying at times (decisions by the main characters) and the ending is a bit ... well I personally didn't like it that much, but it did get a big laugh from the overall audience, so ... Anyway, this is not for the faint hearted, with all the graphic violence and blood on display. You've been warned

Love it or hate it, it's all in the ending

[dcj2 · 6/10 · 11 January 2021]

Is it horror?? Not really. Is it action packed? Erm...I guess. Is it suspenseful? Mildly. The characters are weak, stupid, and generally unlikable. Seriously, how many people does it take to change a frickin' tire? At one point it looks like the dude is actually trying to remove the tire from the rim. I mean WT-Entire-F??? The plot is simple, the effects are acceptable. As we near the end, it seems like it'll be a total waste of time. But then, the end happens. And I loved it. In just those few seconds, this went from 2-3 stars to a solid 6 stars. It's worth the watch if you have a mildly sick sense of humor and appreciation for irony.

I enjoyed it

[markhappyboy · 6/10 · 7 May 2018]

Movie kept me entertained for a while, I don't give a toss regarding the science of bullets sound trajectory, not a bad horror with some pretty gross out scenes so a 6 from me.

What's the point of this?

[misscath-02668 · 2/10 · 14 January 2020]

Tense in the beginning but didn't go anywhere except them each getting knocked off one by one. No character development and no clue as to who the sniper was and why he was killing them. Just a confused mess of gore. One star for special effects.

Violent, tensed n the amazing daylight settings.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 26 May 2018]

Saw this recently on a dvd.

Been keeping a track of Kitamura's work after having enjoyed his Midnight Meat Train n No One Lives.

The best part about this film is the daylight-soaked settings.

Most of the action takes place under the scorching sun. There is no hand held camera stuff n even the night scenes were well shot.

Another good thing is that the film doesnt waste time n the thrill starts within minutes.

Has shades of the awful Carnage Park n also of Roadside (not seen but terrible reviews) n the awesome Phonebooth.

The violence is excessive, there is solid tension n the editing top notch. The shoot-outs r brutal.

It falls into the category of edge of the seat thriller. Not even for a sec I paused the film.

Is there a negative 10 ?!?!

[allboyzokfarm · 1/10 · 13 December 2020]

I can't with this movie. I want my 60 cents back from Redbox.

I don't care what other people say...I enjoyed watching this movie

[mikedegroot · 7/10 · 13 July 2018]

First off, it's a low budget movie with some seriously cheesy acting. That being said, I really liked it for what it is. It's suspenseful, intense, bloody, and original. Like almost horror flicks, some of the characters make some very frustrating and stupid decisions, and it can be kind of predictable. But it is fun, in a bunch of people getting sniped off kind of way. Honestly, if this movie had a larger budget and perhaps some better actors, it would have probably been a hit. As is, it is still better than a lot of horror movies that Hollywood is pushing out. If you can look past it's obvious flaws, you will probably like this one.

Bad.

[tfminfl · 2/10 · 12 April 2020]

420. Downrange. Similar to being downwind to one of your dad's farts, this is also an assault on the senses. A group of six young people get together for a carpooling experience, driving from one place to another! The trip is pretty normal, young kids talking about popular things like Atari, N'SYNC and how dreamy Steven Tyler is. Then all of a sudden, boom, a flat freakin' tire! The driver sort of pulls over, they get out discuss it in a committee, figure out who actually knows how to change a tire, then break off to let the one dude do it himself, and it's a good thing to or they might've gotten shot as well! Wait, what? As tire changing guy is doing his thing, he discovers a bullet in the tire! And then there's a bullet in his head! It looks like the gang walked into game set up by a madman, not just because he's picking off teenagers with a sniper rifle, he doesn't leave the silencer on to hide his location, dummy. Now the teens are stuck hiding behind the broken down car, getting picked off one by one because they can't sit still. Call for help on your cell phone! C'mon you know the answer to this one, they've travelled sooooo far that there is no longer cell phone service, shucks!! Luckily, one of them is an army brat, she let's us know, and she knows things, which don't help whatsoever but thank you. They should have flown. Filmbufftim on FB.

Cheese ... but the best sort!

[ok_english_bt · 7/10 · 3 June 2018]

Sometimes I wonder if I'm watching the same film as the other critics? 'Downrange' is a pretty straightforward gore-fest, low budget flick, cast of relative unknowns ... for me it works well, tension is maintained throughout the 'phases' of the film, particularly during the various 'standoffs' when the characters work out what the hell to do. If you go into this movie with realistic expectations you come out satisfied. Director Kitamura makes slick horror and fantasy films obviously even when he doesn't have a massive budget to play with. And lastly, leave the actors and script the **** alone, it's not half as bad as some of the rubbish I've seen recently.

Be honest, we all love a bit of cheese occasionally :)

Please don't waste your time.

[himanshudodeja · 3/10 · 6 March 2019]

This movie do not have any story line. The movie's synopsis on the imdb page pretty much sums it up. Moreover the acting is poor. Just let it go, don't waste your time.

One of the better low budget C/B-grade films I've seen

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 8/10 · 15 May 2018]

I have to say, aside from the bad acting - of which I can't be overly critical about as these are all no-name actors, this film was an edge-of-your-seat suspenseful thriller! There was an overly talkative dragged out boring scene by the one kid, but other than that, the pacing was great, directing on point, the writing/screenplay very well done and the cinematography and editing quite good. The films length was perfect. The gore, although not really necessary, was actually pretty decent to add a horror genre to its name. I'm not sure why some are hating on it - probably comparing it to a big budget Hollywood film, but for a low budget C/B-grade indide film, it was very impressively done! This is a great popcorn flick and I would recommend it. A well deserved 8/10 from me!

Good, tense thriller.

[roscoe666 · 7/10 · 15 July 2018]

Mysterious sniper tracks people at the roadside.

Good, tense suspense thriller. Yes, the acting is mid-range (I've seen far worse believe me), and the script won't win any Oscars, but the simple plot holds the attention throughout.

Quite violent at times (the people who are shot don't just fall over with strawberry jam on their shirts).

Whereas the characters aren't particularly threshed out, you get enough to justify their actions.

The ending is particularly unexpected, and also ambiguous but I'd advise checking it out. Without adding spoilers, the fate of the main characters isn't what you'd expect either, which adds to the fun.

Overall, drama, violence, tension and suspense supplied in abundance. Also good fun.

It reminds me of The Belko Experiment, Towerblock & You're Next, but with little padding. If you like those films this one is recommended.

Animal action involves some wasps on a body, and a wolf and some crows who all disappear at the first sign of trouble.

Terrible cast

[craigbuckmaster · 3/10 · 7 October 2018]

Ok let me start by saying the idea for story I actually quite liked, however the acting from these "actors" was beyond terrible, now I'm not saying I would do better because I don't want to be an actor but they were so bad...no likeability whatsoever.

We start with your typical jock kinda guy who's changing the tyre to be fair we didn't see much from him so he could have saved the day but we will never know, the blonde female was just terrible no connection with her on screen bf, literally forgot about her after she died.

Then you have the black guy who in all Fairness just kept shouting what are you saying and laughing every time he got shot, then you have the timid "I'm scared of everything" girl my god someone should have just shot her from the group, and then there's the I'm a tough cookie girl in her tomb raider outfit my god just terrible they were all just so bad! But the one who I even pressed fast forward a few times was the bf of the dead blonde he for me was the worst one, one bit in particular was the line "give me the phone" and before she could even ignore him or give him the phone he goes straight into screaming "GIVE ME YOUR PHONE" I mean it came across like they were reading from the script word for word no improvising at all.

Some reviews have said the characters are really likeable......good lord which one?

Different actors the film would have been better.

I rated 3 for the actual idea.

THE Worst

[sderrickson-55444 · 1/10 · 2 December 2020]

One of the worst I've ever seen...the acting is horrific/laughable and lots of unrealistic moments...don't waste your time/money!!

Fun midnight movie

[phanthinga · 7/10 · 11 May 2018]

This movie is not intended to win any oscar and i'm sure will never watch it again unless i'm the most boring person in the world but the concept of being sniped in the middle of nowhere is super scary and for 90 minutes it entertain enough for me to write a review about it so....yeah

Awful! What are you talking about...

[bombersflyup · 1/10 · 14 July 2020]

So there are some truly horrible films even worse than this, but Downrange takes the cake as most uncreative and mind-numbingly dull, that I can recall.

You have chess club bland characters you couldn't care less about, with no setup or backstory, in one setting with pointless killing. Not even anything funny either, not one positive thing to say about it.

Ryuhei Kitamura's Sniper horror is brutal and intense.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 7/10 · 22 August 2023]

When a group of teenagers experience a blown out tire on an isolated stretch of backroads, a simple changing of the tire turns into a fight for survival when it's revealed a sniper was responsible for their tire blowing out and two of their group are killed in the process. As remaining members Jodi (Kelly Connaire), Keren (Stephanie Pearson), Todd (Rod Hernandez) and Eric Take cover unable to move the group tries to use what meager resources they have to find a means of escape.

Downrange is a 2017 horror thriller from cult Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura that premiered as a Shudder original in 2018. Much like Kitamura's prior American films The Midnight Meat Train and No One Lives, Downrange sees Kitamura efficiently and effectively use his available resources to create an intense horror setup that taps into American fears of mass shooters and snipers (long distance serial killers).

Despite the action being contained to only this one stretch of road, Kitamura uses the seemingly limited location to strong effect and along with co-writer Joey O'Bryan creates a likable set of characters with legitimate chemistry with one another that eschews the modern day trope of making horror characters obnoxious archetypes you're supposed to want to see die. The movie sets up a tense situation and never lets up and the ugliness inflicted by the shooter is ugly, horrific, and brutal. Perhaps the movie's a little too efficient with its running time as it perhaps feels like some characters didn't get as much development as others, but it makes up for it with all the various ways Kitamura mines impact and tension from a seemingly simple setup. Everytime I thought I knew where the movie was going, Kitamura would go another direction complete with a shocking ending that I can see many hating, but I think helps drive the point home about the underlying message involving the American problem with firearms.

Downrange is the kind of solid and intense filmmaking that we've come to expect from Kitamura who gives us a chilling exercise in tension and fear. While the gold standard for this kind of movie still probably remains Peter Bogdanovich's Targets, Downrange has its own voice and style that makes it a memorable and worthwhile sit.

Simply awful.

[Fanzinho · 1/10 · 5 May 2018]

As a horror fan I can say this is such a trash.

First of all, they hired the WORST ACTORS EVER. Why? It was painful to watch... All of them are terrible... I don't get why choosing those people and as you might know, acting play a big role when it comes to movies, especially Horror.

The dialogue and plot are so bad, but so bad that it becomes ridiculous at a certain point.

I mean, even the deaths are lame...

This movie does deserve less than 1 star, seriously.

Thoroughly enjoyable Horror

[omendata · 7/10 · 10 May 2018]

I have to disagree with the nay sayers on this one!

Yes the acting was pretty poor but hey that is the standard with horror films but these reviewers either havent watched many horror films or are just out to destroy a decent film - A 1 star review means it was the worst film you have ever seen and this is far from it - Try "The Bad Batch" with Keanu Reeves then come back and tell me this was worse!

Although the acting was not stellar and the story was basic the gore quotient was high and special effects/cgi were good and it had a nice pacing and some really interesting camera work from the wheel of the car to the quadcopter rotor shots - bloody magic.

The director , writer, producer Ryûhei Kitamura is a bit of a genius - great ideas and does everything you dont expect like the ending , this is a truly good horror director to be watched if this is his first outing - People seem to forget this is a Japanese influenced movie from the director to many of the others working on it and so it has a totally different feel to the usual rubbish out there from the stunning bright colours of the location which grab you right from the start of the movie and makes it more interesting imho to the various stages that build up the movie slowly but surely.

I bet nobody noticed the scene with he wolf and its significance when the black guy died - lost on so many people this is truly a superb film I have watched it twice now and it gets better with each viewing - One of the best horror films I have seen this year!

Does anyone else recognise the set? - It looks like it was filmed at the location where Jeepers Creepers II was filmed or is it just me?

It had tension , scares and held my attention to the finish. There are so many bad films out at the moment thats it refreshing to see something that doesnt actually put you to sleep!

Loved the nasty twist at the end too - extra star for that and not giving us the usual Friday The 13th style Jason will return ending.

Talking about a bad movie!

[coreyparker-03046 · 1/10 · 5 December 2020]

This movie by far is the worst movie I've ever seen!!! Terrible acting! Stupid story line! Complete waiste of money and time! Top top it off! The producers actually thought this was a movie worth spending money on! Dont quit you day jobs!

GORY

[sueharriz · 9/10 · 4 August 2018]

This movie got me feeling so angry. angry at the damn ass shooter. shooting innocent people as he likes. the cinematography of this movie is top notched, very impressive! theres a plot twist that made me go WHOAAAAA!! if you love Revenge, Vacancy, or The Strangers, youre gonna enjoy this one too

Many good points

[seanc1977 · 7/10 · 2 May 2021]

For a low budget thriller/horror this film was not at all bad.

Yes the acting didn't start off too good, but that was also due to some poor script writing (dialogue wise) and directing.

It got off to a quick start though and as the film progressed, the acting improved significantly.

The blood and gore throughout the movie was really well done, and the production quality was great from start to end.

The suspense was great the whole way through, and the ending wasn't predictable and had a clever/unexpected ending. There were no slow, boring patches.

With some better initial dialogue, a more experienced director to begin with, and a better cast that could be more convincing from the start, this film would have been amazing. As it was it's a really good watch and worthwhile fun and was done extremely well for the budget.

Beyond shocked at the low quality

[leesimon-26357 · 3/10 · 9 February 2021]

I saw this movie because it was suggested to me based on past views. I knew nothing about the cast or director until after I had seen it. I am shocked that this was made by talented people. I absolutely thought that it was a student-movie. If someone had told me that the cast wrote, shot and directed this as part of a year-end project for the first year of film school, I would have believed that completely. The characters are bad, the acting is bad, the writing is bad, the effects are SO stupid!! It was just very amateurish overall. Good premise. Terribly unskilled execution. I would never see it again. Skip this one.

Why was is made?

[tomasmas505 · 1/10 · 26 May 2018]

What a piece of trash! I enjoy bad movies just to laugh at them but this isn't worth watching for any reason. Why money was spent on this garbage when with a few tweaks it could have been halfway watchable is beyond me. Those involved should be utterly embarrassed.

Intense and nerve-racking, with some hefty gore!

[johannes2000-1 · 7/10 · 23 September 2018]

Of course your ideal (horror)movie would be one with great acting, luscious settings, impressive special effects and heaps of scares and gore. But in the real world we almost always have to settle for a bit less, mostly due to budget-rasons. And that is, especially in the horror-genre, not a bad thing, because it forces producers and directors to be inventive, and it's fascinating to see where they come up with.

So I dare to say that I was impressed by this one. Sure, the acting was not Oscar-winning, there was just that one set, and the goings-on got at times a bit repetitive, but in spite of all that they succeeded in making me sit on the edge of my chair the whole one and a half hour, it was so extremely intense and nerve-racking!! And what they didn't deliver in the acting-area, they sure as hell delivered in the gore-department, wow, this movie is definitely not for the faint-hearted!

So compliments for the makers, and with that I forgive them the silly last scene (although I would strongly advise: come-on, change it, it's just one minute!).

Apart form all the above, I have a more basic thing to say about this kind of movie, where an anonymous person harasses (even kills, like here) innocent bystanders without ever explaining the who and why. I like to believe that the writer and/or director have some artistic reasons for this, but the net effect remains that as a viewer you end up going home with a frustrated and unsatisfied feeling. Is that really the feeling that the makers want to leave behind with their public?!? It seems such a waist of an otherwise very rewarding movie-experience!