Road Train
Short description
Four young friends on a camping trip through the Australian outback find their car run off the road by a massive truck. They survive the crash, one of them injured, and later come across the truck standing abandoned on the highway. When a armed stranger opens fire on them from a distance, they take the vehicle and drive off, hoping to escape. What begins as a getaway turns into a journey far worse than the threat they were fleeing, as the truck itself proves to be something they should never have boarded.
Road Train is an Australian horror, science fiction and thriller directed by Dean Francis, his first feature, released in 2010 and followed years later by Body Blow in 2025. Clive Hopkins wrote the screenplay, Michael Robertson produced, and the cast is led by Xavier Samuel, Bob Morley, Georgina Haig and Sophie Lowe, with David Argue appearing as a character called Psycho.
On IMDb the film holds a low rating from a small number of votes, and on TMDB it sits at 4 out of 10 from around 120 votes, indicating a modest reception. The production involved a credited crew of 48 and was backed by Screen Australia alongside Fulcrum Media Finance and ProdigyMovies, marking a small-scale Australian genre effort built around a single menacing vehicle and an isolated stretch of road.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film "Road Train" was released in the US under the title "Road Kill" because most viewers in the United States are unfamiliar with what a "road train" is.
- Filming was originally planned for 2008, but due to the global financial crisis, the project lost a certain British sponsor, and work had to be postponed until 2009.
- Only the scenes inside the car trailer were filmed in studio pavilions.
- According to director Dean Francis, the film is made in the best traditions of Australian cinema, specifically drawing from films such as Greg McLean's thriller 'Wolf Creek' (2004), as well as the horror film 'The Machines That Ate Paris' (1974) and Peter Weir's drama 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (1975).
- Admission to the premieres at drive-in theaters in South Australia, where the filming took place, was free provided that drivers arrived in trucks with trailers. Something similar happened in the late 1970s during the premiere of Michael Thornhill's drama 'F. J. Holden' (1977), though at that time it applied to owners of Holden cars (the Australian division of General Motors).
- Sophie Lowe (who played Nina) prepared for the filming of key scenes by listening to music on her iPod.
- David Arge got the role because director Dean Francis liked his performance in Russell Mulcahy's horror film 'Razorback' (1983).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
