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Dead End (2003)

 Dead End (2003)
type
TVTItem
 Dead End (2003)
label
Dead End (2003)
 Dead End (2003)
page
DeadEnd2003
 Dead End (2003)
comment
A 2003 French horror movie directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa.On his way to visit his in-laws with his family on Christmas Eve, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.Not to be confused with the 1937 crime film by William Wyler, or the Broadway play from which it was adapted. It is also distinct from the Dead End web cartoon.
 Dead End (2003)
fetched
2023-10-08T09:15:58Z
 Dead End (2003)
parsed
2023-10-08T09:15:58Z
 Dead End (2003)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Dead End (2003) / int_1b590025
type
Dead All Along
 Dead End (2003) / int_1b590025
comment
Dead All Along: The end of the movie has Marion waking up in the hospital after the rest of her family died in a car crash after her father fell asleep at the wheel.
 Dead End (2003) / int_1b590025
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1.0
 Dead End (2003) / int_1b590025
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 Dead End (2003)
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Dead End (2003) / int_1b590025
 Dead End (2003) / int_1bbb76bc
type
Abandoned Area
 Dead End (2003) / int_1bbb76bc
comment
Abandoned Area: The road is empty, except for a single shack full of what seems to be hunting/equestrian paraphernalia. And there's only one other car.
 Dead End (2003) / int_1bbb76bc
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 Dead End (2003) / int_1bbb76bc
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 Dead End (2003)
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Dead End (2003) / int_1bbb76bc
 Dead End (2003) / int_1e584efa
type
Cruel and Unusual Death
 Dead End (2003) / int_1e584efa
comment
Cruel and Unusual Death: All of the main characters, except Marion, were killed in a car crash and implied to be mangled in horrific ways. The Lady in White is heard begging to be rescued at the other end of Laura's phone call, suggesting that she was trapped in the wreckage and slowly died. Along the road, which might only be a dream, the characters suffer cruel deaths as well. Brad is mangled, Richard is burned alive, Laura suffers a traumatic head injury that leaves her brain exposed, and Frank somehow ends up hung from a tree. Even the baby is badly mangled.
 Dead End (2003) / int_1e584efa
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Dead End (2003) / int_1e584efa
 Dead End (2003) / int_21889507
type
A House Divided
 Dead End (2003) / int_21889507
comment
A House Divided: The film starts with the family already annoying and snapping at each other, but no more than one would expect near the end of a long drive. The ordeal they go through on the road and the trauma it causes fractures them further. Patience runs thin, arguments get more heated, and their barbs go from being annoying to actually hurting.
 Dead End (2003) / int_21889507
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 Dead End (2003) / int_34c6ed8
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Don't Go in the Woods
 Dead End (2003) / int_34c6ed8
comment
Don't Go in the Woods: The forest the road cuts through. It's actually just a desolate Small, Secluded World that loops on itself in every direction, and leaving the road for the woods is a great way to die.
 Dead End (2003) / int_34c6ed8
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 Dead End (2003) / int_46c1dc8e
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Someone to Remember Him By
 Dead End (2003) / int_46c1dc8e
comment
Someone to Remember Him By While Marion already knew before the events of the film, she reveals that she is pregnant after Brad dies.
 Dead End (2003) / int_46c1dc8e
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 Dead End (2003) / int_46c1dc8e
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Dead End (2003) / int_46c1dc8e
 Dead End (2003) / int_48081842
type
The Stinger
 Dead End (2003) / int_48081842
comment
The Stinger: While it's assured at first that Marion simply had a traumatic nightmare following the death of her family at the titular dead end, the ending shows a Dr Marcott treating Marion in hospital, and then getting into the black car seen throughout the film when its driver offers her a lift home. It makes the ending a lot more Mind Screw-like. A post-credits scene shows two clean up workmen finding Frank's bucket list, which he wrote in the dream.
 Dead End (2003) / int_48081842
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 Dead End (2003) / int_550754dc
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Improbable Infant Survival
 Dead End (2003) / int_550754dc
comment
Improbable Infant Survival: Subverted with Amy, the dead baby carried by the lady in white, assuming she was ever really alive to begin with.
 Dead End (2003) / int_550754dc
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 Dead End (2003) / int_550754dc
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 Dead End (2003) / int_5a62e8d0
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SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror
 Dead End (2003) / int_5a62e8d0
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Sliding Scale of Comedy and Horror: Mostly lurks on the horror side, but bounces into comedy at unexpected moments.
 Dead End (2003) / int_5a62e8d0
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 Dead End (2003) / int_6f44042b
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The Immodest Orgasm
 Dead End (2003) / int_6f44042b
comment
The Immodest Orgasm: Laura's is probably one of the most hilarious and most revolting ever put to film. After getting the back of her skull chopped off, she reaches to investigate the wound and touches her exposed brain matter.. which she begins masturbating. Which would just be the regular kind of disturbing, except she's been subtly implying that she's been deeply frustrated sexually for years the whole movie, and she shouts her husband's name and says "Oh, finally!" as she climaxes to death.
 Dead End (2003) / int_6f44042b
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 Dead End (2003) / int_765a1683
type
Enemy Rising Behind
 Dead End (2003) / int_765a1683
comment
Enemy Rising Behind: At various points, but the Black Car always drives past the survivors with the victim visibly trapped in the back, the audience usually sees it headlights-first behind somebody.
 Dead End (2003) / int_765a1683
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1.0
 Dead End (2003) / int_765a1683
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 Dead End (2003) / int_7f390ebc
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Developing Doomed Characters
 Dead End (2003) / int_7f390ebc
comment
Developing Doomed Characters: Part of the fun of the film is how obviously screwed these people are. If you're a fan of horror movies, the obvious configuration of a Perfectly Happy Family on Holiday Vacation who all fit exaggerated stereotypes right off the bat is basically a glowing, neon sign that says "These people are going to die". The movie is really more about who these people really are.
 Dead End (2003) / int_7f390ebc
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 Dead End (2003) / int_81c4faa3
type
Entertainingly Wrong
 Dead End (2003) / int_81c4faa3
comment
Entertainingly Wrong: Richard thinks that all the watches stopping at 7:30 and the endless road means there is some alien activity going on which is not even remotely close to the truth. Later in the movie, Frank decides that the car must be on a military road, which is less entertaining, but still obviously wrong.
 Dead End (2003) / int_81c4faa3
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 Dead End (2003) / int_ac36578e
type
Or Was It a Dream?
 Dead End (2003) / int_ac36578e
comment
Or Was It a Dream?: The films leaves us wondering if Marion was dreaming the whole thing, or if she truly witnessed the downfall of her family.
 Dead End (2003) / int_ac36578e
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1.0
 Dead End (2003) / int_ac36578e
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 Dead End (2003) / int_b3bdf232
type
Alien Geometries
 Dead End (2003) / int_b3bdf232
comment
Alien Geometries: The road continues infinitely, and attempting to walk off it just leads right back to it.
 Dead End (2003) / int_b3bdf232
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1.0
 Dead End (2003) / int_b3bdf232
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Dead End (2003) / int_b3bdf232
 Dead End (2003) / int_b58b4e3c
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Too Dumb to Live
 Dead End (2003) / int_b58b4e3c
comment
Too Dumb to Live: Masturbating and smoking pot while your family is lost in the woods is a good way to end up on the wrong end of the morality scale.
 Dead End (2003) / int_b58b4e3c
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 Dead End (2003) / int_b58b4e3c
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 Dead End (2003) / int_bef696dd
type
Mind Screw
 Dead End (2003) / int_bef696dd
comment
While it's assured at first that Marion simply had a traumatic nightmare following the death of her family at the titular dead end, the ending shows a Dr Marcott treating Marion in hospital, and then getting into the black car seen throughout the film when its driver offers her a lift home. It makes the ending a lot more Mind Screw-like.
 Dead End (2003) / int_bef696dd
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 Dead End (2003) / int_bef696dd
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 Dead End (2003)
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 Dead End (2003) / int_c691d3f4
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Offscreen Teleportation
 Dead End (2003) / int_c691d3f4
comment
Offscreen Teleportation: The Lady in White frequently appears and disappears in the blink of an eye while the black car keeps suddenly driving up behind the family.
 Dead End (2003) / int_c691d3f4
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 Dead End (2003) / int_e06e9909
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Going in Circles
 Dead End (2003) / int_e06e9909
comment
Going in Circles: The titular dead end. There is no end to the road.
 Dead End (2003) / int_e06e9909
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 Dead End (2003) / int_e06e9909
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Dead End (2003) / int_e06e9909
 Dead End (2003) / int_efd95d99
type
Poking Dead Things with a Stick
 Dead End (2003) / int_efd95d99
comment
Poking Dead Things with a Stick: Upon the discovery of Brad's corpse on the side of the road (that is kept entirely offscreen but the other characters treat as a horribly gruesome, shocking, and incredibly gross sight), Frank picks up a stick and pokes at the remains, prompting questions from Richard. With Frank's efforts with the stick failing to yield results, Richard takes it upon himself to reach in with his hand and retrieve a blood-drenched cellphone with a severed ear dangling from the antennae.
 Dead End (2003) / int_efd95d99
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 Dead End (2003) / int_feea5139
type
Stay on the Path
 Dead End (2003) / int_feea5139
comment
Stay on the Path: Richard is killed when he goes off into the woods on his own. And later on when Frank and Marion try to walk through the forest, they end up back at their car... except on the other side of the road, somehow.
 Dead End (2003) / int_feea5139
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Dead End (2003)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Dead End (2003)
hasFeature
Dark World / int_cf47cf5e
 Dead End (2003)
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Dying Dream / int_cf47cf5e
 Dead End (2003)
hasFeature
Ethereal White Dress / int_cf47cf5e
 Dead End (2003)
hasFeature
Mark of Shame / int_cf47cf5e
 Dead End (2003)
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Or Was It a Dream? / int_cf47cf5e
 Dead End (2003)
hasFeature
Poking Dead Things with a Stick / int_cf47cf5e