Surprisingly in some ways, "Curve" wasn't that bad. In fact, it was more than not bad. It was a pretty decent movie. Calling it a thriller or a horror movie is a bit of an exaggeration. It's reasonably suspenseful all the way through but there are a lot of pretty dry periods where nothing much happens. In fact, the bulk of the movie really focuses on Mallory's fight for survival. She (played by Julianne Hough) has given a ride to Christian (Teddy Sears) - a stranger who turns out to be a psychopath. No surprise there, of course. It's what moves the story forward. But after a struggle between the two Mallory's car crashes, ejecting Christian but pinning Mallory by her leg in the car, upside down. Once that happens the movie settles into Mallory fighting to survive this impossible situation. There are flashes of "127 Hours" to this - but turned into a "thriller" by Christian, who's always menacingly nearby. The story becomes a bit creepier by not really establishing what Christian's motivation was. Why was he doing this? What was he hoping to gain? Maybe that's part of the horror - this guy, who can come across as completely normal, has no real agenda except that he likes to torment and torture innocent victims. Well, of course, eventually Mallory gets free from her predicament. The story then becomes quite unbelievable. Mallory moves around surprisingly well for someone whose leg has been pinned upside down for quite some time, and discovering that Christian has taken a family hostage inside their nearby cabin, Mallory seeks her revenge on him.

It's a simple story. I thought Hough and Sears (who are the only cast members of note in this) were fine in the roles. The story has the required cringe-inducing moments, but it is full of cliches and you pretty much know where the story is going long before it gets there. All things considered, though, it was easy to watch. I'd give it 6/10.

Mallory Rutledge (Julianne Hough) is driving her fiancé's truck to Denver to meet him and get married. While driving in the lonely road, she talks to her sister Ella and decides to take a detour to visit the Grand Canyon. Out of the blue, the truck stops and Mallory can get no service in her cell phone. However the gentle drifter Christian Laughton (Teddy Sears) offers to fix the car and Mallory accepts. Then she offers a ride to him and when she is driving, he says pornography to her. She asks him to leave but he shows a knife and tells her to go to a derelict motel. Mallory sees that the psychopath Christian is not wearing the seat bell and decides to throw the truck off the road in a curve. But the leg of Mallory is trapped in the overturned car and Christian leaves her without any help, in the beginning of Mallory's worst nightmare. Will she escape from the vehicle and from the psychopath?

"Curve" is a tense low-budget thriller with good performances of Teddy Sears and Julianne Hough. However, the promising beginning and development are wasted with a conventional and commercial conclusion. Mallory is wounded and starving after many days trapped in the truck and her decision of helping Katie is absolutely unbelievable. Further, she has a gun pointed to a psychopath and asks him to not move after days of torture. Anyone would have shot the psychopath and then ask him to not move. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available on DVD or Blu-ray

Mallory (Julianne Hough) is traveling on alternate route 92 near I-80 in Utah. She is traveling from San Francisco to Denver to marry Brad. She seems to have doubts she won't admit to, and takes the scenic route. Her Ford breaks down and she gets help from a nice clean cut hiker, Christian Laughton (Teddy Sears) of 1419 Harriet St. Topeka, Kansas. At this point we can pretty much predict what will happen, including the ending, minus a few details.

For much of the film, it consists of Mallory trapped in a vehicle. If you like those one man formula films, this one has that going for it.

Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.