Octane [Pulse] **½ (2003, Madeleine Stowe, Mischa Barton, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Norman Reedus) – Classic Movie Review 12,746

There are three good performances from Madeleine Stowe, Mischa Barton and Jonathan Rhys Meyers – plus capable and tense direction by Marcus Adams too – in the flavoursome, atmospheric, quite gripping little 2003 British horror thriller film Octane [Pulse].

Driving home her rebel teenage daughter ‘Nat’ Wilson (Mischa Barton) one dark and stormy night, divorced mother Senga Wilson (Madeleine Stowe) encounters creepy cult leader The Father (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his band of bizarre young criminals at a truck stop.

It was largely shot in Luxembourg.

It features a soundtrack by dance duo Orbital.

It runs 91 minutes.

After being shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2003 and a mini-release in the UK on 14 November 2003, it unfairly didn’t see much light of day in cinemas and went to DVD/ video in the US as Pulse.

The main cast are Madeleine Stowe, Mischa Barton, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Norman Reedus, Bijou Phillips, Lou Gregory, Gary Parker, Amber Batty, Jenney Jules, Patrick O’Kane, Nigel Whitmey, Samuel Fröler, Stephen Lord, Dean Gregory, and Sarah Drews.

The cast are Madeleine Stowe as Senga Wilson, Mischa Barton as Senga’s daughter Natasha ‘Nat’ Wilson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the cult’s leader The Father, Samuel Fröler as Senga’s ex-husband and Nat’s father Marek Wilson, Bijou Phillips as the Backpacker, Leo Gregory as Joyrider, Gary Parker and Amber Batty as the vacationing couple, Jenny Jules as highway patrol sergeant, Patrick O’Kane as the trucker, Stephen Lord as Carjacker, Sarah Drews as Christine, Norman Reedus as Christine’s brother the Recovery man, Martin McDougall as Motivational Speaker, Shauna Shim and David Menkin as paramedics, and Nigel Whitmey as Detective Ned Stephens, Dean Gregory as Christian missionary, Monika Hudgins as Southern woman, Cesar Bayona Pinto as Latino busboy, Véronique Koch as cashier, Ase Dunbar as cashier, Nicolette Christie as teenage girl, Emma Drews as teenage girl, Tom Hunsiger as Crime Scene Investigator, Sam Douglas as crash site detective, and Rachel Pollack as Metro girl.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,746

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