30 Miles From Nowhere (2018)

30 MILES FROM NOWHERE (2018)

Dir: Caitlin Koller

30 Miles From Nowhere is the feature directorial debut of Caitlin Koller, who has created a suspenseful and horror fueled version of The Big Chill (1983). But don’t tell anyone in 30 Miles that, because they believe the characters in The Big Chill were ancient and boring… and didn’t they all sleep with each other. Moments of brevity and character backstory and interactions between the college friends plant the story firmly in a reality you can grasp. It raises the stakes and allows us viewers to walk in their shoes. Simple story elements are shaken out early on. We are as the title says 30 miles from nowhere, cell signal is shoddy at best, there’s a storm coming, when it rains the roads wash out, and there’s an old woman with dementia wandering the property at all hours so have a good night.

Five friends from college reunite to bury their friend Max. The widow Sylvia (played to perfection by Carrie Preston from True Blood) has invited Max’s college friends to stay the weekend in a cabin on Max’s childhood estate. The friends all bond over their past and bicker over not being more present in each other’s lives. All while something slowly stirs around them. Eventually the bonds of friendship are tested and not everyone will survive the weekend.

Caitlin Koller and writer Seana Kofoed bring these characters to life. It is a cliched statement but a genuine sentiment. Each of the friends have layers that shed light on their decisions which works more than enough to service a minimalist blueprint story. Nowhere in this film, do we feel as though we are in the hands of a first-time filmmaker. The suspense is palpable and the questions we direct at the plot keep it moving at a break-neck speed. I’m excited to follow all future projects from this creative team.