I enjoyed this movie! It wasn't as thrilling as some but the story & characters drew me in and fascinated me. The acting was absolutely brilliant from all concerned - especially the two leads - "guy and girl". I loved that they never named them and how interesting it was that they never introduce themselves to each other! Very moody and tense, this is not a horror flick for gore fans, it's more of a tension- filled drama with spooky spectral beings and one particularly nasty ghost adding to the proceedings.
The script is extremely well written, even eliciting a couple of wry chuckles at appropriate times. The direction and score (by the awesome Mansell) were excellent and it utilised it's chillingly beautiful snow- bound setting and creepy ruins expertly. I loved it but I wouldn't call it a horror movie - despite a few of the nastier images. It's more of a thrilling drama, a spooky love story, and/or - as someone else wrote - a tale of redemption. It's also a tale about dealing with isolation, not just in the snow-covered crashed car but in the lives of the protagonists generally. And the ending is perfect when you understand what this movie is - and is not - about.
The movie gives you plenty to think about and if you watch this expecting everything to be crystal clear, straightforward and wrapped up at the end you'll be disappointed. It's got something of a metaphorical/philosophical under-pinning that relates to the characters of 'guy' and 'girl' and their "night of awakening".
I note with interest several of the "this is rubbish" reviews seem to have made obvious mistakes about what happens in this movie, even clear and simple things like what actions the characters took to get help at different times. Either they didn't watch it all or they weren't paying attention which is probably why they ended up giving it a bad review. This is a movie you need to pay attention to - it's not just "lets have fun eating popcorn while watching people being terrorised in the dark" - there's much more to it than that.
But it's the two main actors that really make this movie. The quality of their acting is astounding and it says bucket-fulls about their acting skills that they both eventually gained my sympathy. I actually didn't like either of them at first, she was horribly arrogant & he is a stalker/loser, but as the movie progressed I grew to understand them & their behaviour (as did they) and really care about, not just their survival of this particular night, but their future development as human beings.
I recommend it to people who like moody ghost stories with an intelligent, poetic style & a focus on character development, who don't mind a slower paced movie. I don't recommend it if you have the attention span of a gnat or think horror movies are good only if they're about "violence, gore & sick stuff" as I've heard some say. Will be looking for more from this director.
The script is extremely well written, even eliciting a couple of wry chuckles at appropriate times. The direction and score (by the awesome Mansell) were excellent and it utilised it's chillingly beautiful snow- bound setting and creepy ruins expertly. I loved it but I wouldn't call it a horror movie - despite a few of the nastier images. It's more of a thrilling drama, a spooky love story, and/or - as someone else wrote - a tale of redemption. It's also a tale about dealing with isolation, not just in the snow-covered crashed car but in the lives of the protagonists generally. And the ending is perfect when you understand what this movie is - and is not - about.
The movie gives you plenty to think about and if you watch this expecting everything to be crystal clear, straightforward and wrapped up at the end you'll be disappointed. It's got something of a metaphorical/philosophical under-pinning that relates to the characters of 'guy' and 'girl' and their "night of awakening".
I note with interest several of the "this is rubbish" reviews seem to have made obvious mistakes about what happens in this movie, even clear and simple things like what actions the characters took to get help at different times. Either they didn't watch it all or they weren't paying attention which is probably why they ended up giving it a bad review. This is a movie you need to pay attention to - it's not just "lets have fun eating popcorn while watching people being terrorised in the dark" - there's much more to it than that.
But it's the two main actors that really make this movie. The quality of their acting is astounding and it says bucket-fulls about their acting skills that they both eventually gained my sympathy. I actually didn't like either of them at first, she was horribly arrogant & he is a stalker/loser, but as the movie progressed I grew to understand them & their behaviour (as did they) and really care about, not just their survival of this particular night, but their future development as human beings.
I recommend it to people who like moody ghost stories with an intelligent, poetic style & a focus on character development, who don't mind a slower paced movie. I don't recommend it if you have the attention span of a gnat or think horror movies are good only if they're about "violence, gore & sick stuff" as I've heard some say. Will be looking for more from this director.