What happens when a group of five friends go climbing in the Balkans? Wrong Turn meets The Descent by way of Cliffhanger and it is freakin’ awesome!
From the moment I saw the trailer for this film online I knew it would be epic and it did not disappoint me. Experienced climber Fred, his girlfriend Karine, her friend Chloe and Chloe’s current boyfriend and ex Loic and Guillaume head to a remote Balkan climbing trail only to find it is closed. Fred manages to climb up so far free hand and secures a line so that the group can gain access to the trail regardless of the warning signs. The group of thrill seekers decides to go for it, but it isn’t long before they begin to regret their decision. Things go from bad to worse when they find themselves stranded in the mountains and they are NOT alone.
High Lane (or Vertige, in its native France) is a fast paced thrill ride that showcases amazing scenery, inspired camera work and a solid cast and couples them with first rate effects work and snappy editing to create another fine French fright fest.
The cast are mostly likeable and there is well written tension and history already there in the script just between the characters before any of the other elements come in to play.
When the vertigo aspect rears its head, I actually began to feel nauseous and shaky on behalf of the protagonists. I then got a jolt or two of adrenaline when we encountered the antagonist of the piece.
Many people have criticised character motivations saying that Loic would never have agreed to go on a climb if he had vertigo etc, but the fact of the matter is everything is explained in the script. Loic agreed to go on the trip to impress Chloe; his actions from then on are spurred on by male ego bullshit between him and Guillaume. You can’t say a film doesn’t make sense if there are legitimate reasons for actions and reactions. I personally think these people got too hung up on reading the subtitles and forgot to pay attention to what was unspoken between the characters and to watch their actions and body language.
OVERALL SUMMARY
In the end High Lane doesn’t manage to maintain the level of tension present from beginning to end, but it’s another fine piece of French genre work that may just be THE most exciting horror movie I’ve seen all year. If you can appreciate a fast paced and straightforward throwback to hillbilly horror, then this should be right up your alley.
