Movies
Poor acting gets in the way of the drama, which then gets in the way of the horror. It's a shame, because the finale showcased MacDonald's potential as a horror director. This could've been a better film if it hadn't bet its first half on drama and characters.
When a film starts with people driving off for a weekend of camping, a few scenarios are possible. Either we'll be dealing with degenerate hillbillies, disgruntled and reclusive hunters or wild animals. Backcountry picks the latter, which inevitable means it's more of a thriller than a straight-up horror film. I quite like the camping/animal attack niche. The better films in the genre tend to do a good job at getting that feeling or remoteness and helplessness across. In combination with some mad/dangerous animals, it usually makes for 90 minutes of simple but amusing entertainment. Adam MacDonald does a pretty good job. The introduction is a tad long (and a little misleading, which doesn't leave that much time for the actual animal attacks) and the ending is a bit too convenient, but the setting is nice, actors are decent and there's more than enough tension to get through the 90 minutes without a hitch. Add a few gruesome injuries and you can't really go wrong with this one.Read all