My most read book in high school was Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide. I read it from cover to cover at least once a day. I would steal graph paper from my calculus teacher and draft up plans for impenetrable zombie apocalypse houses. My second favorite book was Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew. It gave an 11th-grade me blind ambition for something I could never pull off in my life. Seeing how Rodriguez [basically] forced his way into fame with a no-holds-barred attitude was nothing but inspiring. Something about The Misadventures of Vince and Hick tells me that Heston Horwin and Trevor Stevens were fans of that book as well. (The Robert Rodriguez one, not the zombie one.)
Hick Dunn (Chase Cargill) is released from prison after serving a sentence for grand theft auto. He soon runs into an old high school classmate, Vince Campbell (Heston Horwin). The two quickly join causes as they’re both heading in the same direction. Hick needs to get to his ex-partner’s house for his daughter’s birthday party, and Vince must deliver a [stolen] car. What should be nothing more than a road trip in a stolen vehicle turns into chaos and disaster at every corner. But hey, that’s why it’s called The Misadventures of Vince and Hick!
Why This Film Is a Cinematic Riot
WOW! This film is an absolute RIOT! It has it all: heart, laughs, blood, tears, and comic-like visual onomatopoeias. Director and cinematographer Trevor Stevens’s handling of Heston Horwin’s script could only properly be described as “chef’s kiss”. Misadventures is the bloody as hell lovechild of the oeuvres of Robert Rodriguez and Edgar Wright. This film has all of the trappings of the Mexico Trilogy rolled into one. It has the scrappy-in-nature feel of El Mariachi, a polished, fast-paced story like Desperado, and the visual appeal of Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Robert Rodriguez would have a blast with this flick.
Chase Cargill and Heston Horwin proudly carry the film’s runtime with a cast of wildly wonderful characters. Each moment feels like a new vignette that all comes together in a bloody, loud finale. For a film that spent half of its budget on Bosa Nova music and breakaway beer bottles, Misadventures is one hell of an adventure. Many people have tried to emulate Edgar Wright’s style of filmmaking, and few have been successful. Stevens and Horwin seemingly used these filmmakers as a lesson by creating something that feels like an homage, yet remains wholly original.
A Film You Won’t Want to Miss
The Misadventures of Vince and Hick had my attention from the first frame until the credits. This is one of those films that you can watch alone and enjoy, or watch in a room full of rowdy film fanatics and also have a blast. Each twist and turn builds, ramping up the tension with momentary breakaways of obscure comedy that leave you with a sore stomach by the end. Misadventures is a one-of-a-kind film that doesn’t fail to stop surprising you until its cathartically hectic ending. You do not want to miss this one.