Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

With such actors as Johnathan Rhys Meyers, and Madeleine Stowe one initially might think reviews giving this movie the thumbs down might be a bit harsh. Unfortunately, this effort is no gem...and manages to run out of octane before it has even begun. Redundant plot, redundant characters can't even save the best of actors and this piece is full of predictability. Unfortunately, the predictability runs straight into the end of the movie where we are left to wonder HOW? things end up as they do. For the reviewers who gave this piece anymore than 2 stars I offer that just because you like something it doesn't mean it is good. I'm a big Twinkie fan but that doesn't mean they are actually good...it just means I like bad food. Same with this movie there will be a few people who will "buy" into the visual images. Those images (and there aren't many) are the only thing that cause this piece to get my two stars, that and the actors. The gas tank party palace- could have been really cool device in a different movie. But This little ditty is just plain out of gas! Rolling down the road on fumes.

"Nobody in chains ever soared up to the sun"This film is a considerably underrated yet imperfect exercise in style filmmaking. The most important element in creating a film in this genre is how effectively the director can engineer the creepiness and mystery factor and IMO Adams definitely succeeds in pulling it off here. It's clear that he grafted some of the directoral techniques of David Lynch in many of the films early sequences....Madeline Stowe says as much in the actor interviews on the DVD. Much of the film's skillfully accomplished eeriness is greatly enhanced by the soundtrack which is a solid 10.Stowe was the perfect choice for the mother as much of her acting skill comes from her gifted ability to convey strong emotion nonverbally but merely through her facial expressions. Just watching her you truly believe this is a woman in a complete state of panic. Norman Reedus was also exceptional as the tow truck driver with a stoic icy demeanor who manipulates the audience into a context of uncertainty about his intentions. ************ Spoiler Alert *****************The film started to become very interesting during the scene inside the tanker truck where the dark highway sequences suddenly blend into a lofty dreamlike club atmosphere with the Orbital soundtrack pounding away giving the impression that this cult is most at home when they're on the highway.It is true, as some of the other reviewers point out, that the only real let-down in the film was the ending. It was too abrupt and should've been more developed. It would have been well served by an additional 10-15 minutes of good writing.The entire film was shot in Luxembourg so nothing about the highway sequences looks familiar.

I watched this movie only because I'm a huge Norman Reedus fan, and this was one of the few movies of his I hadn't seen.One of the biggest problems with this movie was the pace. It spends forty minutes just showing Senga (mom) and Nat (daughter) bickering and arguing, which definitely does nothing to endear Nat to the audience. Then it briefly picks back up... only to slow down again. This definitely isn't something I'd watch on TV, just because I probably ended up skipping through an hour of this hour and forty five minute long movie.Another problem was actually -and I hate to say it- Norman Reedus's character of the 'Recovery Man'. He pulls the role off well, but... well, there really wasn't enough of a role for him to do much with. He follows the group along, okay, so far so good... But then you get the impression that he's been following them for years as a tow-truck driver, but never gets anywhere, and just happens along Senga and Nat, and decides to sort of follow them, but not really. Then finally at the end, just as his character starts to get sort of interesting, boom. Movie over.Also, as far as this being a horror, or thriller... There really was no substance to it at all. There's nothing remotely scary, or even chilling. The camera work was amazing, and did give off a creepy vibe, but the story itself was... very blagh, is the only thing I can think of.Normally, I would say not bad for it's genre, but again, it really doesn't fit into a genre... Comparatively speaking, it wasn't horrible (especially compared to some of the trash passing itself off as good cinema lately) but it just didn't do anything for me. Again, it was more of a 'when is something interesting going to happen?' rather than 'what's going to happen?'.

Ah, the adorable Mrs.Stowe… I sure miss the late 80's/early 90's, back when she was an elite member of the chosen few actresses club (alongside Linda Fiorentino, Lara Flynn Boyle and Sherilyn Fenn) who's every new film became instant priority-viewing on my movies' list. I wonder if she herself regrets the glorious days of "China Moon", "Blink" and "Unlawful Entry" are gone forever, especially now that she has to appear in below par and allegedly 'hip' new horror movies like this dreadfully irritating "Octane". This film is, briefly put, a big fat steaming & smelly pile of utter garbage. The story makes no sense whatsoever, the terribly slow built up atmosphere of mysteriousness leads absolutely nowhere, the "villainous" characters are pathetic & all but menacing and there's a seriously frustrating shortage of gore and sleaze. The ravishing Madeleine Stowe plays the uptight mother of an equally ravishing teenage girl (Mischa Barton) and the two are on a long and nightly homeward car journey. Things heat up when mommy forbids her daughter to go to a music concert and, bang, the girl promptly runs off with a bunch of rebellious teenagers in a giant truck. The fact she wanders off with complete strangers is already quite implausible, especially in this day and age, but the script even gets sillier when the strangers turn out to be members of some sort of bizarre cult. I think it's even hinted that they are a modern type of vampires, but that's never really confirmed. And then it even gets more retarded when literally everyone on the highway appears to be involved in this fiendish organization, including a female police officer and random motor home people in a restaurant. Stephen Volk's screenplay is truly unimaginative, borrowing even elements from 70's chillers like "Race With The Devil", Marcus Adams' direction is totally uninspired (not at all stylish, like some reviews I encountered dare to proclaim) and you know you're in trouble when someone without charisma like Jonathan Rhys Meyers is supposed to play an evil personified type of character referred to as The Father. Give me a break. "Octane" is a pretentious, pitiable and miserable excuse for a thriller, and if you have idea what good film-making is about you'll stay the hell away from it.