MovieChat Forums > Road Train (2010) Discussion > Film explanation...I think. Maybe. (spoi...

Film explanation...I think. Maybe. (spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by terrencepatrix
14 replies | jump to latest

This isn't a defense for this film. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't exactly the worst piece of crap I'd ever seen. I'd rate it at like a 3/10, which is pretty bad, but watchable if you can turn your brain off. Meaning...I was mildly drunk when I decided to watch it, and fairly drunk by the time I finished it.

What I gathered, is that this truck was actually a traveling gateway to and from hell. The hood ornament and constant flashes of the three-headed dog shows it to be Cerberus, the guardian (there to keep people from escaping mostly) of the gates of hell. I think it might have been a reference back to Greek mythology, when Hades was an actual physical place that could be entered.

The front trailer, was the "engine" for this hell gateway truck, it was a processing factory for the souls and bodies of victims to keep itself running.

The back trailer was the actual entrance to hell. I don't believe the Cerberus was actually IN the truck, but that you could sense and hear him from 'our' world, by means of the gateway in the back trailer.

The truck itself, entices people to it with the intention of most likely possessing an individual, so that it can use that individual as an operator. It may run on human parts and souls, but it might require an individual to seek out the actual victims...or there wouldn't be someone to load the bodies into the first trailer.

Finally, and this is just total assumption with no real basis to back it up, the reason behind the crazy guy in a 70's casual suit. When he was chasing down the blond haired guy later on, he was shouting "what'd you do with my truck??", meaning he wasn't a victim trying to "save" people, that he was indeed possessed and attempting to kill people to feed to the truck. When he caught up with the blond one, either he lapsed back into momentary sanity, or the blond one got the advantage...70's suit man was killed. Perhaps his 'possession' naturally jumps to the next person, bringing with it a part of his personality at first, along with his insanity. The blond one took on his identity (clothes and all) and went directly back to 'his' truck with the intention of killing everyone. He gained a coherent sane moment for just long enough to allow the girls to render him unconscious.

So in summary, tl;dr, Truck is a traveling gateway to hell, running into other vehicles on the road to either kill or possess them for fuel. Truck has no point other than it is an entry point to hell, ala greek mythology. 3-headed dog was just there to hammer home the point of it being a hell truck.

Also I have no evidence to back up any of this, I was just bored.

[–] onesunday 14 years ago

HAH, interesting interpretation but it makes sense... I never wouldn't guessed it was a "hell" truck seeing as the movie was called "Road Kill"

And I didn't get the thing with the 3-headed dogs. I thought the back of the truck had wolves or something.

[–] TheTominator 14 years ago

I kind of agree with you, only I think it was pretty clear that the truck runs on blood, not on souls, but other than that I agree. I also think that the 70's suit should represent that the truck's been doing that for a while. Arguably, the truck is too new, but hell is in the back trailers so I don't think that'd be a problem.

He's here to kick ass and eat kebabs. And then kick more ass. http://tiny.cc/TuRambo

[–] spyanotherway 14 years ago

That is an interesting interpretation, nice work!
The film's real title is 'Road Train', they just changed it in North America because nobody with brains outside of Australia knows what a Road Train is.

Last movie seen at cinemas: 'Inception'
Last dvd bought: 'Kentucky Fried Movie'

[–] TheTominator 14 years ago

Yeah, I didn't quite get what a Road Train was. Help?

He's here to kick ass and eat kebabs. And then kick more ass. http://tiny.cc/TuRambo

[–] spyanotherway 14 years ago

Here you go!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train

Last movie seen at cinemas: 'Inception'
Last dvd bought: 'Kentucky Fried Movie'

[–] xenatikkanen-1 13 years ago

Two things: It did seem to run on blood, but that blood (remember Liz drinks it) is from bodies and seems to have their souls inside; ergo, it does run on souls AND the blood = souls. Second, the truck being new may be from the fact (total conjecture here) that maybe it regenerates with each soul, so it could have been there for however long trucks have been in existence. If it's a hell truck, think about the way the devil is most often portrayed. The devil can take many forms; so, maybe so can the truck? Maybe it just keeps ending up the way it started...hehe

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[–] mrenaut-1 13 years ago

Yeah, good explanation, I'd agree with that. Thanks.

I hadn't picked up on the '70s suit, though I had assumed the guy was the 'owner' of the truck rather than an unwilling victim.

Second trailer being entrance to hell also makes sense and would explain how the blonde girl and the guy with the broken arm went from being locked in the trailer to the cab of the truck while it was still moving.

There's plot holes in this movie you could drive a Road Train through but I didn't hate it. But then I have a high threshold for bad movies!

People should spend more time watching movies and less time bitching about IMDB spoilers.

[–] modelajb 13 years ago

i didn't think the 70s suit guy was the owner of the truck. i got the impression that he was just one of the many people who had been lured to the truck and became possessed once he started driving it. it seemed to be a never-ending cycle.

[–] jjturley 13 years ago

Yes, I agree with this explanation. It makes sense, though the filmmakers might have put a little more explanation into it to help us and not leave us to guessing. But maybe not? I pretty much got the same interpretation as you.

It is a low-budget movie. Not the best, but not the worst by far.

[–] jonschaper 13 years ago

To understand the "psycho's" motives, just watch the end of the film. He was obviously trying to stop the truck. Why else would the blonde kid start shooting at the truck when he took on his role? He could have just shot his friends to stop the truck, and he tried, but it was obviously too difficult for him. Compare that to the ending with the last two survivors. Keep in mind that the "psycho" was already executing someone out in the desert.

Also keep in mind all the things that were seen in the shack, especially the blackboard. Who says there wasn't any backstory about the truck?

Frankly, it's nice to see a film that assumes the audience can add 2 and 2 instead of having to explain everything in one syllable words.

[–] modelajb 13 years ago

i think the psycho was just doing the bidding of the truck and getting another body to fuel it when he shot that person out in the desert. i imagine he was just a normal guy before he was drawn to the truck, just like the kids and those other guys who took it after them.

[–] Amethystlongcat 13 years ago

Can someone explain the house then? The one with all the tins and tubes for the blood? Unless the truck just hangs around in the same area ( which seems daft; would he get enough victims driving through?) why would all the kit be in that little house?

[–] kahleth 12 years ago

I don't think the house was real. I't was a hallucination.

[–] WilltoPower 9 years ago

Nice idea, but this movie is too poorly made, too simplistic, and too stupid to have had any thought whatsoever put into it.