The Kindness of Strangers horror short takes the classic premise of lurking trouble on a winding road and gives it a violent, knife-stab of a twist. The film is hauntingly dark, uncomfortably claustrophobic, and wonderfully suspenseful. This is a The Twilight Zone episode programmed by Wes Craven.

 

Directed by Stu Silverman, who co-wrote the story with Kathryn Douglas, Kindness… places two girlfriends out on a road trip. They decide to use a physical map (no cute and convenient GPS here!), which places them on a dark secondary road miles away from nowhere. The perfect setting, of course, for terror. For this instance, it comes by way of an abandoned car crashed on the roadside. Its occupant (Tammie Baird) covered in blood.

 

Anna (Angela Jaymes) wants to play the role of Good Samaritan. Stacy (Nell Nakkan) is wary, even frightened, but listens to her friend and makes the poor choice in stopping. Nothing good, after all, happens in the dead of night on an untraveled road.

 

Silverman presents a tight, dark story - both visually and metaphorically. While the narrative weaves ahead, emotions also race on. Both Jaymes and Nakkan beautifully kindle love and exasperation, then fear, and finally outright terror in captivatingly human ways. Also advancing the narrative is Adam Sanbourne’s fantastic score. The music builds with tension and is equally enthralling as the visuals. 

 

Silverman constantly has the viewer looking ahead into the shadows… until it is too late. Kindness might indeed be accepted. But sometimes it comes with a price.