Rob Savage, a filmmaker, created “Host” and “Dashcam,” two horror movies in the well-liked discovered footage genre, during the COVID pandemic. The former had its debut in 2021 after society had started to reopen, while the latter came out in 2020 during the height of the quarantine as one of the best horror films of the year. The difference in how life was during those years is also mirrored in the films, since “Dashcam” is completely different from its predecessor in practically every way. In contrast to “Host,” where the dread is contained in a nearly claustrophobic environment, “Dashcam” was like the frenzied rush of energy that most individuals experienced when they were finally able to escape their houses.
The film’s nonstop action is not confusing in the sense that it is overly complex. However, the film does immediately take audiences by surprise and drag them through a challenging journey without giving them the chance to ponder why the annoying protagonist is on a path leading straight into complete crazy. Savage advises watching “Dashcam” much than than to completely comprehend everything that occurs, but for additional assistance, here is a guide with details on Annie Hardy’s terrifying night.
“Host,” the first horror film directed by Rob Savage set in the pandemic era, is a slow burner in which the suspense grows until the terrifying climax. The director decided to take a completely different approach and produce an homage to the campy gorefest “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” for his next movie, which was shot right after. According to him, this film should be “in the tradition of those ’80s sequels that take a classy original movie and make a really un-classy, large, loud, kind-of comedic sequel,” as he told NME.
Savage worked tirelessly to make the movie as intense as he could to realise his goal. He told Den of Geek, “I just wanted this movie to be a bit too much on every front.” “A little overwhelming, maybe a little too much for one viewing, and also just like anxiety causing the whole way through,” one reviewer said. Nobody can argue that the filmmaker fell short of his objective, despite the over-the-top behaviour of Annie Hardy’s protagonist and the extremely violent violence.
Annie Hardy acted as a fictional version of herself
Annie Hardy, the protagonist of “Dashcam,” has a reputation for being quite divisive. She frequently lacks empathy for those around her, including her close buddy Stretch and his girlfriend Gemma, in addition to being an outspoken opponent of vaccines. And as the story goes on, nothing really changes.
Some moviegoers who are familiar with Annie Hardy as the star of the actual web series “Band Car” and the lead singer of the band Giant Drag could find one key feature about the character to be quite perplexing. Rob Savage and co-writer Jed Shepherd made the decision to centre the narrative around her outspoken personality after becoming familiar with her distinctive live stream freestyling technique. At the same time, the persona of Hardy was always intended to be completely fictionalised in the character. The actress was frank in her explanation to NME “In this role, I’m taking on an alt-right persona. I don’t think I’m as much of a d***head.”
The performer nearly turned down the job because they felt the audience would hate the character. She anticipated there would be some misunderstanding of who she actually was, and that is exactly what happened. Hardy explained that “Dashcam” and her character “slip into a grey region” since “everyone has black-and-white thinking these days.” “Although I am the character’s name, there are several characteristics and things that I would never say in real life. It is a film. However, many today don’t comprehend movies as a whole and believe that what they are seeing is actually happening.”
The protagonist had no interest in the plot
Rob Savage sought to portray the story in “Dashcam” in a way that was purposefully ambiguous and with little explanation of the plot. The method not only complemented the chaotic general tone of the movie, but it also made sense to portray the events through Annie Hardy’s point of view.
It was never intended for the protagonist to actively advance the plot, as Savage revealed to “Dread Talks”
The director claimed that “this character isn’t the kind of guy who’s going to deliver an exposition dump and talk about the plot.” “She won’t be intrigued by the story, for example. She’ll want nothing more than to leave immediately. As a result, it evolved into a humorous parody of a horror film where the protagonist isn’t particularly invested in the story and just sort of stumbles into these scenarios without really caring how they relate to one another.”
The film is meant to be watched twice
It is likely that many first-time viewers of “Dashcam” would leave the movie wanting more, which was done on purpose. There is no time for explanation because things happen so swiftly. On the other hand, if the audience isn’t solely focused on the fast-paced action, they’ll note that the viewers of Annie Hardy’s live stream offer important plot-related clarifications in the comments.
But as Rob Savage told Den of Geek, the creators did not anticipate that viewers would pay much heed to the initial comments.
The intention, according to Savage, is for there to be “something to intrigue you to come back for a second viewing where you could follow that.” The director said, “The specifics would be worthwhile,” “The commenters are really acting like amateur sleuths the entire time, and they deduce the plot. In other words, if you want to experience the movie, you may watch what’s on screen; if you want to understand the movie, then the comments can sort of explain it.”
The story was pitched as The House of the Devil in a car
The goal of “Dashcam” director Rob Savage was to craft a fun, roller coaster-style horror movie that keeps the viewer on edge all the way through to the dramatic conclusion. In light of this, the director was well aware that his film was not the most innovative. On “Dread Talks,” he continued, “is not entirely original, but we sold it as ‘[The] House of the Devil’ in a moving car. But as soon as you add a character like Annie, her choices, her responses, and the rather outlandish way she behaves when she feels threatened, terrified, or like she needs to defend herself, all those situations start to feel a little bit more novel.”
The final result is exactly what was planned, with the characters being repeatedly placed in situations that are more extreme than the previous ones. Even when the satanic cult’s evil intentions are abruptly revealed, Annie Hardy has no time to think; she only needs to act to survive and leave the horrific situation she finds herself in.
Angela’s staples saved Annie’s life
It might be simple to overlook how very frail Angela was when first presented in “Dashcam” because she develops into such a terrifying monster in the second half of the movie. According to Rob Savage, who wrote the script with Jed Shepherd, that element of the plot was one of the first ones they thought of when creating the script. The director explains, “We kicked ideas around and came up with Annie picking up an old woman who she needs to convey from one location to the other. “The fact that the elderly woman was both the victim and the aggressor struck a chord. Boris Johnson was announcing, “Don’t go outside or you’ll kill grandmother,” at this point in 2020. It seemed like a very facetious thing to do.”
Even though Angela’s supernatural prowess became apparent when she saw her mother being flung across the restaurant, things didn’t really get out of hand until the staples were taken out of her mouth. From that point on, the elderly-looking woman goes on a vicious killing spree, killing everyone in her path. Therefore, at first, when they were in the automobile together by themselves, the staples were literally the only thing that saved Annie Hardy’s life.
The commenters discovered Angela’s identity
The true identity of Angela is one of the first big revelations made by the numerous commenters as they watch Annie Hardy endure the horrifying ordeals during “Dashcam.” One of the viewers, @yellowhammermaker, reveals that the mad woman who is hunting Hardy and Stretch is in fact a teenage girl right after she makes the claim that she is the elderly woman’s mother. Their evidence comes from a source that claims “16-year-old Angela Enahora was last seen walking home from school.” The same armchair detective who correctly identified the two women as related owing to their similarity earlier in the novel when the party was escaping from the diner.
When Angela’s complete identity is revealed, the commenters also start to speculate more about Hardy’s situation, alluding to the group of demon acolytes who were behind the live streamer’s night of unimaginable terror. First, while referring to Angela’s crazy mother, @SharkBubbleBite says, “Shes [sic] in some cult or something.” Shortly after, @fire&br1m tweets “demons satanists” and “get right with god” in response to the monstrosity once known as Angela savagely killing her own mother. These threads confirm the commenter’s assertion that the occult was somehow involved, along with earlier claims concerning demons and Satan.
Annie Hardy was meant to be the cult’s next victim
Annie Hardy agrees to drive Angela across town near the beginning of “Dashcam” after being paid a respectable sum of money for the service. The destination’s address is subsequently provided to her, and she writes 214 Timberline Way on her arm. It is simple to overlook at first, but the commenter @yellowhammermaker points out that something is up with a foreboding post that they were unable to locate the address either on Google Earth or through any other searches.
After barely escaping Angela’s homicidal spree in the finale, the main character seeks refuge in a house that appears to be empty. Annie discovers to her horror that she is inside 214 Timberline Way while engaging in her customary freestyling within the house. Before she has time to comprehend this horrifying revelation, she runs across the members of the demonic cult who were not only anxiously awaiting Annie’s arrival but also Angela’s as well.
The climactic events happen quickly after one another, but Rob Savage gave Den of Geek a little additional context. The director disclosed that Angela was actually a missing child who had vanished months earlier. When the demon was introduced into her body, it caused her to shrivel up and transform into an elderly woman. The goal of this cult is to make Annie the next host.
By the time Annie finds all of the abandoned automobiles at the Satanic cult lair, the abductions of local residents have been proven. The protagonist is urgently trying to get away and eventually leaves the place, although it is likely that there were more victims than just Angela and Annie, as seen by the items that are scattered everywhere.
Angela was drained by the demon parasite within her
The spectator learns near the end of “Dashcam” that Angela has miraculously changed from a young girl without any supernatural abilities to an old monster with them. It is not until the very end, when the demonic parasite that has been living inside of her graphically explodes out of her body to free itself and pursue Annie, that the horrible specifics of what has transpired to her are revealed.
Angela’s exceptional talents and bloodlust were caused by the bizarre creature, who was also to blame for her transformation into an elderly woman. Den of Geek was informed by Rob Savage that “The mythology we had said that there was a cult that worshipped an ancient monster that, like a hermit crab, required youthful bodies to inhabit it. The issue is that it quickly exhausts them and then requires another.”
The demon is no longer the serious threat it once was when the parasite lost control of Angela. “When it’s out of its shell and out of its human host,” the filmmaker said, “it’s a little weaker, slimier, and embryonic, and basically, it’s something Annie can bash in with a keyboard.”
The commenters have character arcs too
Despite the fact that the action in “Dashcam” is nearly nonstop, the creators also spent a lot of time and effort creating the “live” comments that are frequently displayed on the left side of the screen. Not only was there a lot of feedback from the comments, but the creative team also developed all of the ideas into whole characters.
Rob Savage discussed the process involved in creating so much noise during an interview on “Dread Talks.” He claimed that he and the producer “spent a type of sleepless couple of weeks just living on Red Bull and piecing together thousands and thousands of comments creating these characters.” Each of those characters “has a personality and an arc,” says the author. Producer Douglas Cox said to Deadline that the project was so huge that he also made a significant contribution “Those statements are quite complex. The majority of the characters [making the comments] are still residing rent-free in my head today.”
The protagonist never redeems herself
It makes complete sense why Annie Hardy, the performer, was apprehensive to accept the lead role in “Dashcam,” as her character essentially behaves badly the entire time. But unlike the protagonists of many horror stories, she survives as the main character without ever really atoning for her actions or receiving any type of poetic justice for the way she treats those around her.
Rob Savage was not shocked that many viewers found the main character to be intolerable because he intended for her to be one of the most unorthodox aspects of the narrative. He revealed to Deadline “Many viewers of this film find her repulsive and difficult to cope with, and because you’re watching a horror film, you consider things like, “Do I want to see this person eaten by a demon or not?” a lot. Many viewers are saying, “I hope this b**** f****** dies,” as they watch.”
