A group of experienced mountain climbers headed by American Melissa George (!) head off into the Scottish Highlands where after a bit they come across a young Serbian girl (Holly Boyd) stuck down in a hole Rescuing her they soon realise they have stepped into the middle of a dangerous situation, as some seriously bad dudes (including Sean Harris) come after the girl, and they aren’t playing nice. Eamonn Walker and Karel Roden play a couple of guys who are also after the girl for their own reasons only slowly revealed.
Having watched this film without knowing anything about it, and thoroughly enjoying it, I strongly suggest you put this review aside until after viewing the film (which I tend to do myself anyway). Trust me, you’ll enjoy the film more that way. But make sure you come back…please? I watched this 2011 thriller from director/co-writer Julian Gilbey not long after Melissa George earned the hatred of many in Australia for throwing a tantrum on morning TV simply because they dared to bring up her beginnings on an Aussie soap. On Australian TV. In Australia. Apparently George felt constantly reminding her of the connection Aussies have to her, is in some way demeaning to her, and she would rather eat croissants in France than be bothered with her home country from now on, to paraphrase the actress herself after the semi-controversy. Yes, she actually referred to eating croissants. So anyway, here I was sitting down to watch this movie, with all of this in mind, ready to rubbish George and the film. Well, it didn’t really work out that way. Damn it, the girl has made a gem of a B-movie here, I’m afraid, even if her American accent is seriously dodgy.
The characters here are a lot more interesting than the usual twits you get in horror films. And older too, as Ms. George for instance, is older than me (I’m 32). I especially loved the bit where one of the characters knows a certain person is speaking Serbian because his ex-girlfriend used to swear at him in Croat. A lot. I also liked that these people are experienced and seemingly intelligent climbers. Smart characters in a genre film are sadly a novel concept. Some might find things to nitpick, but I felt these were smart people doing and saying smart, perfectly rational things. Even the villains are interesting, and I especially liked that they were so no-nonsense. These are just straight-up bad, nasty people, and once they turn up, the scenery starts to match their darkness. Especially memorable is a cold, dead-eyed Sean Harris, whose re-counting of a kidnapping gone wrong is truly chilling. Karel Roden is really good too, for once not playing a particularly bad guy, though Eamonn Walker is pretty wasted.
The best thing, however, is that the story keeps you guessing throughout. Initially, a retread of “The Eiger Sanction” sounded about as interesting to me as…well, “The Eiger Sanction” (which sucked). But then things get weird…and after that, they twist even further, and I was never really sure just what kind of film I was watching or quite where it would end up. For once, a slowly unravelling plot happens to be an advantage, because if this film were to unravel in a more straightforward manner, one would discover that the plot actually isn’t all that new when you think about it. Here, by the time you discover that, you’ve already had a good time.
OVERALL SUMMARY
A solid genre film that surprised the heck out of me. I wasn’t expecting much at all. Well-acted, good-looking, and constantly surprising.
