Trucker (2024) Review
When a long-haul trucker’s family is killed in a fiery crash caused by a group of reckless teens, he miraculously survives. Nursed back to health by a mysterious old man, the grieving father channels his trauma and rage into a brutal campaign of retribution against those responsible. What follows is a white-knuckle descent into obsession, violence, and dark revenge.
The film stars Milo Hayden (Holiday Twist, Shark Bait), Nicole Mattox (Lady Outlaw, Dungeons of Ecstasy), Katherine Gibson (Devil’s Game), Dare Taylor (Girls On Film), Lauren Parkinson (Paul T. Goldman, 7 Days to Hell), Jim Palmer (Terminator 2, National Treasure, Guardians of the Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribbean).
Directed by Errol Sack and written by Steven Shaffer, Trucker plays very much like a lost relic from another era. Whether intentional or not, the film feels like a genuine throwback to the sort of low-budget genre pictures that populated video store shelves during the 1980s. In fact, it captures that spirit more convincingly than many modern productions that attempt nostalgia with far larger budgets and slicker production values.
Watching it, I couldn’t help but feel as though I’d stumbled across a dusty VHS tape in a rental shop purely because the cover art looked intriguing. That sensation of accidental discovery — of picking up something unknown but promising — is part of the film’s charm. Trucker carries the rough, slightly scrappy energy of those kinds of films, where ambition and enthusiasm often compensate for financial limitations.
Narratively, the revenge element at the heart of the story never quite lands as effectively as it might. The central premise — involving a group of young people haunted by their involvement in a roadside accident a year earlier — evokes memories of I Know What You Did Last Summer, while the relentless vehicular menace inevitably recalls Duel, Steven Spielberg’s classic road thriller. These comparisons highlight the film’s influences, and while Trucker never reaches the heights of those predecessors, it borrows just enough from them to remain engaging.
Despite its modest budget, the film rarely feels cheap. The production manages to maintain a sense of momentum and atmosphere that keeps the story moving even when the narrative itself feels slightly underdeveloped. Much of that energy comes from the cast, whose performances are consistently entertaining. No one appears to be sleepwalking through the material; instead, the actors embrace the film’s pulpy tone and make the most of it.
Ultimately, Trucker may not fully deliver on the potential of its revenge premise, but it remains an enjoyable ride. Its retro sensibility, energetic performances, and unpretentious approach to genre storytelling give it a personality that many more expensive productions struggle to achieve. For viewers with a fondness for the scrappy thrills of old VHS-era cinema, it proves to be a surprisingly welcome detour.