Written by | Ray Cornelius
Imagine receiving a letter in the mail about human sex trafficking taking place at the local mall where your 12-year-old daughter frequents. Well, that’s exactly what happened to filmmaker Deon Taylor. The father and noted director was in shock when he learned that girls (and some boys) were being lured into the underworld of sex slavery at the hands of other girls and even some older women. He was so disturbed by it that he penned the new dramatic thriller, Traffik, which opens in theaters this weekend.
The film stars Paula Patton as Brea, a journalist who takes a romantic weekend in the mountains with her boyfriend, John played by Omar Epps. Isolated at a remote estate, the couple is surprised by the arrival of two friends, Darren (Laz Alonso) and Malia (Roselyn Sanchez). Just when the weekend starts to get back on track, a violent biker gang turns up and begins to torment them. The foursome is forced to fight for their lives against the gang who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.
“It just haunted me,” said Taylor during my recent UPFRONT interview. “I was in the middle of writing something else at the time and was trying to figure out another thriller and this seemed to just snap right into what I was just getting ready to write. Instead of me writing a horror movie where Freddy Krueger is the monster or a shark like JAWS, I thought—this is it!”
Taylor went on to further explain that most of the film’s script was ripped from actual headlines and is grounded in reality. “It’s very dark and unsettling but at the same time, it’s the thrill ride of the year.”
Check out the rest of my interview with Taylor and one of the film’s stars Laz Alonso in Saturday’s edition of my radio show—UPFRONT Inside Atlanta’s Entertainment Industry.
It airs at 9 a.m. EST at Jazz 91. WCLK and online at WCLK.com.
Watch the Traffik trailer below:
Photo Credits: RayCornelius.com
