101 Films, out now

It’s an ordinary night for driver Russell – until he picks up Charlotte…

The less you know about Brad Baruh and Meghan Leon’s ultra-low budget genre mash-up, the better. I’d be perfectly happy for you, dear reader, to skip the rest of this review and head straight over to your streaming platform of choice and fork out a few digital notes for a 90-minute LA rideshare road movie that will be surprisingly pleasurable and take you to an equally surprising destination, with a few satisfyingly ‘eugh’ moments along the way.

If you’re reading on, then I promise to avoid any spoilers.

Night Drive isn’t perfect. The start is a little uncertain, the low-budget seams ping their stitches from time to time, but stick with it. I knew it was going somewhere unexpected but I genuinely didn’t know where, and the genre/story handbrake turns, which might clunk in other hands, are executed with skill, and an unblinking conviction that never feels contrived. They are built on rock solid story and character foundations and make complete and satisfying sense – as well as saying something decently profound about the nature of human morality. Leon and Baruh, sharing the directorial credits, also score high by making sure the movie commits lovingly to each of the genre styles it plays with.

Ultimately, some of the territory may be familiar but, like an old joke, this really is about how it’s told. Credit needs to go to the two leads AJ Bowen as driver Russell and Sophie Dalah as Charlotte, his mysterious ride. They have genuine screen chemistry which provides the necessary glue when the story goes into full stress test mode. It’s worth noting that Meghan Leon also writes and edits, while Baruh is helming the camera. They both produce, of course, and that sense of artistic unity is at the beating of heart of why I found this movie to be the understated indie gem that it is.

I can’t wait to see what they do next. 9/10

Martin Jameson

 Click here to read our interview with Meghan Leon