A Lonely Place to Die
3/4
Starring: Melissa George, Ed Speelers, Holly Boyd, Alec Newman, Kate Magowan, Garry Sweeney, Sean Harris, Stephen McCole, Karel Roden
Rated R for Language and Some Strong Violence
The film that comes to mind when describing "A Lonely Place to Die" is "The Descent." While it doesn't have any monsters nor does it come close to matching the latter's scare factor, they bear a similar feel. Both have bleak cinematography, man-against-nature suspense which turns into a fight to the death scenario. It's not the movie that those who criticized Neil Marshall for turning his film into a monster movie are looking for, but it's still a wild ride.
Expert mountain climbers Alison (George) and Rob (Newman) are climbing a mountain in the Scottish Highlands with their friend, the less experienced Ed (Speelers). They're meeting two of their other friends, Jenny (Magowan) and Alex (Sweeney) at the top to go on a climb. While hiking to the mountain, Ed hears a strange noise. It turns out that a little girl named Anna (Boyd) has been kidnapped and held captive in a box underground. Being the good Samaritans that they are, the five friends decide to rescue her and take her down to the town below. Unfortunately for them, the kidnappers (Harris and McCole) are still on the mountain, and will do anything to get their victim back.
"A Lonely Place to Die" does exactly what it sets out to do. It uses the mountains for an action/thriller setting, makes us care about the characters and makes us care about their fates. The cinematography by Ali Asad is both beautiful and menacing. The heroes are likable and easy to relate to. The villains are ruthless killers. And the plot doesn't insult our intelligence (and manages more than a few surprises and shocks).
The acting is effective. The weak link is Melissa George, who was solid in the little-seen "Triangle," but her performance here doesn't make the cut. More impressive is Ed Speelers, who is effective as the kid-turned-hero. According to James Berardinelli, he was awful in his debut as the title character in the film "Eragon." I haven't seen that film (and according to him, I should be glad), but he does solid work here. Sean Harris and Stephen McCole are effective villains, and Karel Roden is on hand for a few scenes. On that note, Roden's role should have been lessened. There is a little suspense early on about who he is and how he is involved, but the answer is revealed fairly early. Roden, nor his co-stars for these scenes, aren't the problem. The problem is that they take away from the action and dilute the suspense, and the trade-off doesn't make them worth it.
Director Julian Gilbey directs this film with a sure, but not masterful hand. There's plenty of suspense and enough action to make this well worth a rental, but our attachment to the characters is minimal. We care about them, but not enough time is spent with them to form a strong bond with them. Five minutes with five characters isn't enough. Neil Marshall took his time, and had a better gift for generating characters in an action/horror setting than Gilbey has. The film is intense, but it doesn't match up to "The Descent" as a result. Then again, that's hardly a fair comparison to make since Marshall's horror film is a masterpiece of the genre.
Whatever criticisms I have about this movie, none are severe enough that I won't recommend the movie. For those who like adventure stories, even if they are bleak, this is definitely worth the 99 minutes of your time.
Starring: Melissa George, Ed Speelers, Holly Boyd, Alec Newman, Kate Magowan, Garry Sweeney, Sean Harris, Stephen McCole, Karel Roden
Rated R for Language and Some Strong Violence
The film that comes to mind when describing "A Lonely Place to Die" is "The Descent." While it doesn't have any monsters nor does it come close to matching the latter's scare factor, they bear a similar feel. Both have bleak cinematography, man-against-nature suspense which turns into a fight to the death scenario. It's not the movie that those who criticized Neil Marshall for turning his film into a monster movie are looking for, but it's still a wild ride.
Expert mountain climbers Alison (George) and Rob (Newman) are climbing a mountain in the Scottish Highlands with their friend, the less experienced Ed (Speelers). They're meeting two of their other friends, Jenny (Magowan) and Alex (Sweeney) at the top to go on a climb. While hiking to the mountain, Ed hears a strange noise. It turns out that a little girl named Anna (Boyd) has been kidnapped and held captive in a box underground. Being the good Samaritans that they are, the five friends decide to rescue her and take her down to the town below. Unfortunately for them, the kidnappers (Harris and McCole) are still on the mountain, and will do anything to get their victim back.
"A Lonely Place to Die" does exactly what it sets out to do. It uses the mountains for an action/thriller setting, makes us care about the characters and makes us care about their fates. The cinematography by Ali Asad is both beautiful and menacing. The heroes are likable and easy to relate to. The villains are ruthless killers. And the plot doesn't insult our intelligence (and manages more than a few surprises and shocks).
The acting is effective. The weak link is Melissa George, who was solid in the little-seen "Triangle," but her performance here doesn't make the cut. More impressive is Ed Speelers, who is effective as the kid-turned-hero. According to James Berardinelli, he was awful in his debut as the title character in the film "Eragon." I haven't seen that film (and according to him, I should be glad), but he does solid work here. Sean Harris and Stephen McCole are effective villains, and Karel Roden is on hand for a few scenes. On that note, Roden's role should have been lessened. There is a little suspense early on about who he is and how he is involved, but the answer is revealed fairly early. Roden, nor his co-stars for these scenes, aren't the problem. The problem is that they take away from the action and dilute the suspense, and the trade-off doesn't make them worth it.
Director Julian Gilbey directs this film with a sure, but not masterful hand. There's plenty of suspense and enough action to make this well worth a rental, but our attachment to the characters is minimal. We care about them, but not enough time is spent with them to form a strong bond with them. Five minutes with five characters isn't enough. Neil Marshall took his time, and had a better gift for generating characters in an action/horror setting than Gilbey has. The film is intense, but it doesn't match up to "The Descent" as a result. Then again, that's hardly a fair comparison to make since Marshall's horror film is a masterpiece of the genre.
Whatever criticisms I have about this movie, none are severe enough that I won't recommend the movie. For those who like adventure stories, even if they are bleak, this is definitely worth the 99 minutes of your time.
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