Like most horror anthologies, Mystery Highway has some memorable entries and others that are a mixed bag, to say the least. As a whole, the movie is worth a watch for some of its stronger entries. There’s always the option to skip the weaker shorts, since they’re all self-contained.
The film has a cool framing device featuring late night radio host George Bell (Walter M. Nowosad Jr.), who runs Mystery Highway, a program that’s similar to Coast to Coast AM and mostly listened to by truckers driving the highway during the dead of night. In between segments, the truckers chat with each other over their CB radios, and most of the actors appear in the various shorts.
First up is Stover Hill. While the acting in this one leaves a lot to be desired, it’s an entertaining alien home invasion movie. It also includes some pretty impressive digital effects, considering the anthology’s low budget. In this entry, the aliens possess the humans, so it’s a clever twist on other scary ET movies.
Crazy Joe focuses on a father (James Steinberg) who grieves his wife, frequently visiting her grave and talking to her as a means to honor her memory. His daughter (Hannah Frantz) encourages him to move on and consider finding another girlfriend. Meanwhile, Joe is picked on by the locals in the neighborhood bar and dubbed crazy because they often see him talking to himself. While this entry isn’t bad per say, it’s also hampered by some poor acting and a predictable ending.
Dark Chocolate is one of the strongest shorts. Bill (Christopher Cendana) hustles and works odd jobs to pay his bills and deal with his financial woes. A ship captain invites him on board and offers him his boat and his estate, but on one condition. The captain explains that he had a single chocolate in a box poisoned. He claims he no longer wants to live ever since his wife died. He challenges Bill to a game of Russian roulette with the chocolate, and if Bill wins, he inherits the boat and the estate. It’s a clever premise with a strong ending and plenty of tension.
The Loyal Remnant is the most befuddling entry of the bunch. Its post-Rapture plot is convoluted, and very few of the characters are likeable. Discontinuance is an interesting alien abduction story that also centers on a wealthy father and his daughter who’s irked he remarried. This short had a heck of a lot of potential. However, it ends a bit too abruptly.
Finally, the anthology concludes with You Are Me about a robotics engineer who hatches a scheme to cheat death. This is one, if not, the strongest entry. It’s fleshed out and well-developed with room to breathe and develop its characters.
Mystery Highway is an entertaining enough anthology. There are at least two well-developed entries here, while the rest are skippable. The film’s late night radio show framing device is another highlight.
