"Roadkill" (1990)

"Roadkill" is a short student film directed by Clarke M. Smith, and starring Lei Moats (now Leilani L. Smith) and Kyle Fellows. It was completed in March of 1990 via one 16mm film camera from the University of Arizona. It was shot in black and white and was the first of three 16mm student films. The class was Beginning Film Production.

Realizing the Script
Hot off the heels of the success of “Arizona Smith and the Lost Ore House”, Smith next ventured into a very different medium and style, 16mm film. There was no sound to be recorded, and therefore no dialogue or any sound that had to specifically match, so he wrote a simple visual story with that in mind. It was intended to be a very mysterious and quiet piece, in an outdoor, remote environment. Sound in post production could be used, generally only a music score if desired.

Smith brought back actors from past projects. Leilani L. Smith was featured in “Anonymity” and as a native in “Arizona Smith”. Smith and she began a close knit friendship at this time, which only months later became romantic and exclusive. Kyle Fellows was cast as “roadkill”, and he had also appeared as a henchman in “Arizona Smith”, the radio voice in “Escapee”, and a brief moment in “Contamination”.

Shooting Details
The film was shot in one day with no breaks or lunch. Kyle Fellows (the “roadkill” himself) created the first ⅔ or so of the storyboards, based on Smith’s script. The two built a makeshift dummy out of plywood. Fellows had two identical work shirts, so he could put one on the dummy. Though only in the film for a few frames of screen time, it can be seen in all its glory and detail, when freeze-framed at the right moment.

Smith’s parents were having some financial difficulty with their leased car. Shameful as it may sound today, because it was about to be repossessed, they didn’t care if we did some minimal damage in the shot where it runs over the hapless man. It ended up only garnering a little scratch, but the team ran it over a few times for the shots, but not terribly fast.

There was more planned for the conclusion, including the woman having a thought (shown on camera) that the man would wake up, stumble back to his car, and chase her. This is why she thinks she sees him in her rearview mirror, and pulls over scared. But, they literally ran out of film rolls, and barely got the final shot of Fellows driving the car towards her. 16mm film stock was expensive, and even more expensive to have developed.

“The Abyss” had just been released less than a year before, and Smith used the Alan Silverstri score exclusively for the music in “Roadkill”. Oddly enough, the underwater film music worked surprisingly well for this dry, desert odyssey.

Film Analysis
The story was a fable. The woman does a terrible thing, and it comes back to haunt her. The man who chases her at the end represents her own guilt over the hit and run killing. Its in her head. The twist of course, is that in the final shot, he really IS coming to get her. That of course, could also be in her head. The audience is left not knowing for sure.

Filmmaker Douglas Harms was also in the class, with his film (with a partner) called "Oblivion". He and Smith hit it off, with mutual admiration for each other’s films and styles. The year after, Smith briefly worked on Harms’ next film project, and appeared in it as a background player. Smith’s then girlfriend Leilani also created a number of storyboards for their film. The relevancy behind this mention, is that, fast forward nearly 30 years, Smith and Harms reconnected at the 2019 Showlow Film Festival, where their new films “You Are Me” and “Still Hunt” were shown, and won awards.

Aftermath
“Roadkill” was screened with other final class films at a theater in downtown Tucson, AZ in May 1990. It featured a tremendous sound system, and the deep bass of the music score was thunderous. Smith, Leilani Moats, and Smith’s parents attended.

Years later, Smith recorded foley for the film, added sound effects, and had the original untouched raw footage processed in high quality for a full digital re-edit.

Video Links
"Roadkill" (1990) (Full Movie)

1999 Visual Audio Commentary

"Roadkill" (1990) Extra Footage & Comments