By Melissa Antoinette Garza
RIDESHARE (2018) is a new flick available, on AMAZON Prime, that takes on the fears and dangers associated with getting rides from apps like UBER and LYFT.
Jason (Bradley Laborman) portrays a psychotic driver that works for the fictional ridesharing app Hitch. Two of his passengers, Liam (Liam Kyle Sullivan) and Ilana (Ilana Cohn) are an annoying couple, who immediately start hounding Jason with all sorts of questions about driving. At first, they’re all having fun and the cues regarding Jason’s unhinged psyche go completely missed by the aloof self-involved pair. It isn’t until Jason tells an inappropriate rape joke that the duo show even slight concern, and even then, they weren’t scared; just momentarily put off.
Liam changes the subject, and, in a somewhat charming way, even invites him to improv. I know a lot of people will hate these characters. I get it. They are intentionally over-the-top; but anyone who has ever been in a community of artists, filmmakers and theater people, will know people exactly like this. I know many couples that remind me of Liam and Ilana (and I’m sure the filmmaker does as well). As much as you may hate them, know they are based in reality. Personally, I enjoyed the banter and thought the entire scene was amusing. Jason’s reaction is quite entertaining, as well. The whole conversation reminded me of interactions I’ve seen countless times. There is something delightful in seeing artistic theater people and gruff, rough, alpha males attempting to have cordial conversations with one another. The awkwardness of it all is comedic and magnificent.
Another passenger is Troy (Curtis McGann), a clean cut dude-bro that utters horrible lines like, “I’m heading over to my lady’s pad. Gotta Netflix and chill, if you know what I mean.” Yeah, when that piece of dialogue came out of his mouth, I said aloud, “Kill this guy, Jason. He sucks.”
I will give Troy a tad of credit for questioning Jason’s odd behavior more than Liam and Ilana did. Though, he is still not as nervous as he should be. Within a two minute conversation, Jason says a ton of weird nonsense that would have made me reach for the door while the car was still moving. Troy on the other hand, though slightly unnerved, not only finishes the ride, but asks to be picked up again later.
The evening moves on and Jason has more travellers. Sam (Rucka Rucka Ali) and Susie (Caitlin O’Connor) test his patience. Susie particularly drives him nuts as she is a Paris Hilton Circa 2003, level, narcissist.
As the night progresses, the viewers are given more and more insight into Jason’s mind and depravity. That said, the film obviously isn’t only about Jason’s insanity. Yes, he’s horrible and I think unarguably the worst of the characters shown. Still, many of the targets are morally bankrupt or at least toxic individuals. That isn’t to say they deserve what Jason did. Not at all. Jason is still, very much, the villain. In fact, some of the things he does are reprehensible and tough to watch. There are times, I would have been extremely happy to see him bludgeoned to death with a blunt object, preferably by Liam. Goddammit, I like Liam. Improv and all, that cat was cool and I think he could scrap his way to defeat Jason, given the right circumstances.
In the end, RIDESHARE (2018) was a pleasant surprise. If you combined AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) with a fictionalized taxicab confessions, you’d get pretty close to what this is. The dialogue is pretty entertaining and solid. The actors do a great job. For the most part, this is an ensemble cast. Jason, of course, is the antagonist throughout, but the passengers and customers he delivers to, each play a significant part. Thankfully, they do it well. Though at times, some of the phrases are written in a way that could have easily made the character into a contrived caricature, the actors avoided this by either remaining genuine throughout or in O’Connor’s circumstance showing the affected nature of Susie thus making the artificial language work and seem natural.
Currently, this is available free on AMAZON PRIME and I highly suggest it. Bear in mind, it’s not a slasher, but rather a slow-burn psychological drama. It’s a compelling and captivating watch, in a film where the good far outweighs the bad.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10
