One of the best and most tense moments is when they find the guys body being burned, they now realise this guy who they thought is there to help them survive look after them is a maniac, they try to leave but the bearded guy draws a gun, given the new context this man is crazy this is a tense conflict, but then the coloured girl escalates things by saying he won't shoot as that's now no accident not like the guy who blew up, so in that moment you really don't know who is going to win out..tense.
The guy who owns the retreat shines out as the best actor, none of the others are terrible, but not that great either. I liked how it was set up about his escape trail and that how dangerous it is, later that's the route they take to escape, and the setup of the satellite activated traps that link to his phone, the hot burning wood that in turn cremates the guy's body, It's all pretty efficiently set up.
The problem is you kind of know where the film is going in the first 10-15mins. They're going to turn on each other, not all against each other but to some degree. When the owner went nuts at Rachel for wasting the water I knew he was going to be the antagonist and end up trying to kill everyone, though to fair I didn't call the man's henchman to get involved with him.
Another issue was after Antoine and Rachel take the gun and supplies, the owner and his now side kick get on their buggy to search the trail, shouldn't the main guy of looked around off the trail, he likely knows where the traps are, they both assume they'd be on the trail, it feels forced, I felt the main guy would of guessed they'd stay of the trail as they knew they's be followed.
Antoine kept shouting Rachel's name as he was trying to break the ice, not a good idea, you're advertising your position to the people hunting you, I get that he's stabbing the ice but that isn't nearly as loud, nice escalation through, he could lose his only ally and potentially the only gun they have, their only hope of survival. And I liked how practical the preceding scene is with the aftermath of Rachel being wet and frozen and him getting in with her in the foil.
The reveal that Rachel left the army due to not acting fast in the heat of the moment and then living in fear came in quite late, plus they're really a few throw away lines, not a lot to get me invested. It reminds me of the Chinese proverb "What I hear I forget, what I see I remember, what I do I understand" , given the fact she's the only survivor it would of been better to have that element of her life developed earlier in a more visceral way, this context is the key to us caring for her and it's all delivered in a few throw away lines, we need some form of experience for her with that context trying to survive.
I would have been a bit more invested in her had we of experienced her go through a sort of recreation of her event in the army in this scenario, in the location we're in and experience her fears come back while trying to defend herself but here she does act in time and efficiently, thus I forget the reason why it's all so internally bad for her, could that move have given away who survives? maybe, maybe not...if you develop everyone equally that could work, it's quite a short film, it could of been lengthened, but then was there a budget for that? maybe not. Rachel doesn't seem to scared looking, you'd expect some PTSD to be triggered and her to be fighting against that, but she looks cool as a cucumber, another reason I wasn't totally into her character. She's great as a survivor but her past doesn't tell us that, she should panic, be overly fearful in times of combat, where did that go, help me empathise with her movie, please.
Why was the owner so far behind the shootout? Its 2 against one, wouldn't he be on the heels of his henchmen incase he get killed?no? they have a gun too....again, feels forced as hell. Again a tense film, good action and practical effects but predictable and forced in places with not the best developed survivor.
The guy who owns the retreat shines out as the best actor, none of the others are terrible, but not that great either. I liked how it was set up about his escape trail and that how dangerous it is, later that's the route they take to escape, and the setup of the satellite activated traps that link to his phone, the hot burning wood that in turn cremates the guy's body, It's all pretty efficiently set up.
The problem is you kind of know where the film is going in the first 10-15mins. They're going to turn on each other, not all against each other but to some degree. When the owner went nuts at Rachel for wasting the water I knew he was going to be the antagonist and end up trying to kill everyone, though to fair I didn't call the man's henchman to get involved with him.
Another issue was after Antoine and Rachel take the gun and supplies, the owner and his now side kick get on their buggy to search the trail, shouldn't the main guy of looked around off the trail, he likely knows where the traps are, they both assume they'd be on the trail, it feels forced, I felt the main guy would of guessed they'd stay of the trail as they knew they's be followed.
Antoine kept shouting Rachel's name as he was trying to break the ice, not a good idea, you're advertising your position to the people hunting you, I get that he's stabbing the ice but that isn't nearly as loud, nice escalation through, he could lose his only ally and potentially the only gun they have, their only hope of survival. And I liked how practical the preceding scene is with the aftermath of Rachel being wet and frozen and him getting in with her in the foil.
The reveal that Rachel left the army due to not acting fast in the heat of the moment and then living in fear came in quite late, plus they're really a few throw away lines, not a lot to get me invested. It reminds me of the Chinese proverb "What I hear I forget, what I see I remember, what I do I understand" , given the fact she's the only survivor it would of been better to have that element of her life developed earlier in a more visceral way, this context is the key to us caring for her and it's all delivered in a few throw away lines, we need some form of experience for her with that context trying to survive.
I would have been a bit more invested in her had we of experienced her go through a sort of recreation of her event in the army in this scenario, in the location we're in and experience her fears come back while trying to defend herself but here she does act in time and efficiently, thus I forget the reason why it's all so internally bad for her, could that move have given away who survives? maybe, maybe not...if you develop everyone equally that could work, it's quite a short film, it could of been lengthened, but then was there a budget for that? maybe not. Rachel doesn't seem to scared looking, you'd expect some PTSD to be triggered and her to be fighting against that, but she looks cool as a cucumber, another reason I wasn't totally into her character. She's great as a survivor but her past doesn't tell us that, she should panic, be overly fearful in times of combat, where did that go, help me empathise with her movie, please.
Why was the owner so far behind the shootout? Its 2 against one, wouldn't he be on the heels of his henchmen incase he get killed?no? they have a gun too....again, feels forced as hell. Again a tense film, good action and practical effects but predictable and forced in places with not the best developed survivor.