Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Pushed to his breaking point, a master welder in a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains quietly fortifies a bulldozer with 30 tons of concrete and steel and seeks to destroy those he believes have wronged him.
Tread tells the bizarre-but-true story of Marvin Heemeyer's armored bulldozer rampage in Granby, Colorado — an inherently extraordinary premise that gives it exceptional novelty; few documentaries cover such a singular, almost mythic act of one-man vengeance. The storytelling is engaging and the subject matter is gripping, landing the plot above average. As a documentary, 'acting' reflects the quality of interview subjects and archival footage — serviceable but unremarkable. Cinematography is competent true-crime doc fare with dramatic recreations but nothing visually distinguished. The ending, while factually resolved, carries an ambivalent emotional weight that works reasonably well without fully landing its thematic implications.