Hallow Road Review: A Hollow Conclusion

Hallow Road starts off as a promising thriller, but it shoots itself in the foot with a hollow, unsatisfying, and illogical conclusion.

We are then introduced to Maddie (Rosamund Pike, of Gone Girl), who is woken up by a beeping smoke alarm in the middle of the night. When she does a quick sweep of the house, she realizes that her daughter Alice (Megan McDonnell, of Normal People), along with her husband Frank’s (Matthew Rhys, of Saturday Night) car, is missing. Moments later, Maddie speaks to Alice on the phone. Considering that it’s the early hours of the morning, she’s concerned about her daughter’s well-being and where she may be. That is when a frantic Alice discloses to Maddie and Frank that she accidentally hit someone on a secluded road, who appeared out of nowhere in front of the car.

When Alice’s parents ask about her whereabouts, their daughter explains that she took a shortcut through a wooded area to get home. However, the reason for her being in this location doesn’t make much sense, and her parents start to wonder why she was there in the first place. In an attempt to help their daughter, Maddie and Frank start driving towards the location to help cover up Alice’s crime before anyone else witnesses what happened. As the night unfolds, revelations turn a bad situation into a chaotic one. Nothing is as it seems, and surprises lurk around every corner.

For the first hour of the film, Hallow Road is a gripping, claustrophobic thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Considering that almost all of the movie takes place within a car, I was concerned that the narrative would be boring, but that certainly isn’t the case. The story does a great job of keeping viewers invested through various intense conversations between Alice and her parents, while more details about the accident and the mystery surrounding why Alice traveled to that area come to light. 

There’s also a lot of conflict, as Maddie and Frank have different views on how to handle the situation they have found themselves in, and the best way to move forward in such a predicament. As a former paramedic who has witnessed many accidents firsthand, Maddie feels somewhat conflicted about some of her daughter’s choices surrounding the incident. On the other hand, Frank is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Alice out of trouble and cover it up completely.

Hallow Road wouldn’t have been nearly as compelling without its talented cast, especially Pike, who commands every scene she’s in. The back-and-forth disagreements between Frank and Maddie hold the audience in suspense, as you’re left wondering what the end result of this accident will be, and whether the family will be able to cover up the murder or if they’ll be caught dead in their tracks.

As the film enters its final stretch, viewers are thrown a curveball, and the narrative takes an unforeseen turn. Unfortunately, this was the moment that Hallow Road started to fall apart for me, introducing a paranormal element into the mix. It not only feels underwhelming in its execution but also completely out of place in the story. The other cardinal sin is the fact that this subplot is underexplored, unclear, and leaves viewers with more questions than answers.

By the end of Hallow Road, I couldn’t help but think that what started as a promising film ended as a rather perplexing thriller that will leave many viewers disappointed about the final reveal once Maddie and Frank arrive at the scene. It’s one of those movies that blurs the lines between reality and illusion, but once you figure out the details, it’s an illogical, unrewarding conclusion. A hollow road, indeed. 

Hallow Road will be released as a double feature with Vincent Must Die exclusively at AMC Theaters nationwide on October 31, 2025.