Wilderness (2006)

Director:

Michael J. Bassett

Writer:

Dario Poloni (writer)

Release Date:

11 August 2006 (Ireland)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It's not about revenge. It's about punishment.

Plot:

Juvenile delinquents gets sent to a small British island after a fellow prisoners death, where they have to fight for survival. |

Plot Keywords:

Crushed Head | Stabbed In The Chest | Slasher | Torso Cut In Half | Shot Through The Mouth

Cast

Sean Pertwee	...	Jed
Alex Reid	...	Louise
Toby Kebbell	...	Callum
Stephen Wight	...	Steve
Luke Neal	...	Lewis
Ben McKay	...	Lindsay
Lenora Crichlow	...	Mandy
Karly Greene	...	Jo
Adam Deacon	...	Blue
Richie Campbell	...	Jethro
Stephen Don	...	Dave's Father
John Travers	...	Dave
George Shane	...	Governor
Gordon Fulton	...	Boat's Captain
John Rea	...	Counsellor John
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryan Hendrick	...	Paul
Nathan Hughes	...	Inmate
Anthony McKenna	...	Inmate
Colin Nicolson	...	The Poacher

Directed by
Michael J. Bassett

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dario Poloni		writer

Produced by
Bill Allan	....	executive producer
Robert Bernstein	....	producer
Robert Bernstein	....	producer
Simon Bohonek	....	assistant producer
Matt Delargy	....	development producer
Emma Hayter	....	executive producer
Ivan Mactaggart	....	executive producer
John McDonnell	....	producer
Douglas Rae	....	producer
John Soraghan	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
Mark Thomas

Cinematography by
Peter Robertson

Film Editing by
Kate Evans

Casting by
Gail Stevens
David Wheal

Production Design by
Tom McCullagh

Costume Design by
Hazel Webb-Crozier

Makeup Department
Paul Hyett	....	special dog effects

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Therese Friel	....	second assistant director
Andrew Hegarty	....	assistant director

Art Department
Darren Lyttle	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Nick Adams	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer
Jörgen Hasselblad	....	foley artist
Ronan Hill	....	sound mixer
Ronan Hill	....	sound recordist
Philip Jenkins	....	sound mix technician
Rob Killick	....	sound studio technician
Lars Klettner	....	foley editor
Joakim Sundström	....	supervising dialogue editor
Sven Taits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Wrightson	....	adr editor
Alexander Beddow	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Waldo Mason	....	special effects
Martin Neill	....	special effects
Ben Philips	....	special effects technician
Robin Pritchard	....	prosthetic technician

Visual Effects by
Tim Caplan	....	head of production: DI and vfx
Sangita Mistry	....	2D Artist: The Mill

Stunts
Dominick Hewitt	....	additional stunt coordinator
Dominick Hewitt	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Giedrius Nagys	....	stunt rigger
Donal O'Farrell	....	stunt coordinator
Philippe Zone	....	additional stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Adam Dale	....	aerial director of photography
Andy Gardner	....	clapper loader
Steven Livingstone	....	trainee electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kerry Gooding	....	first costume assistant
Rachael Webb-Crozier	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Matt Gauci	....	avid technical support
Paul Hyman	....	assistant editor
Tamsin Jeffrey	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tom Dalgety	....	music scoring mixer
Bradley Miles	....	music preparation

Transportation Department
Roy McManus	....	driver: grip truck

Other crew
Julie Connor	....	production coordinator
Matt Gauci	....	avid technical support
Catherine Geary	....	location manager
Paul Hyett	....	special dog effects
Jamie Jackson	....	trainee assistant location manager
Dorothy Luking	....	dog handler
Helmut Luking	....	dog handler
Lisa McAtackney	....	production coordinator
Emma McNeill	....	production secretary
Ashton Radcliffe	....	location manager
Andrew Reid	....	head of production: NIFTC
Emily Ann Sonnet	....	assistant to producer
Andy Stephens	....	aerial operations manager: Flying Pictures Ltd.
Barney Wrightson	....	aerial operations assistant: Flying Pictures Ltd.
Susanna Wyatt	....	additional stills

Production Companies

• Momentum Pictures (presents)
• Baker Street
• Ecosse Films
• Take Partnership
• Maysfield Leisure Centre (uncredited)

Distributors

• AV Pictures (2006-2007) (worldwide) (all media) (sales agent)
• Be Best in DVD (BBI-DVD) (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• First Look International (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• La Fabrique de Films (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Legend Films International (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Momentum Pictures (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• P.F.A. Films (2006) (Italy) (all media)

Other Companies

• Flying Pictures  aerial filming services provided by

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Germany:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Finland:K-18 | UK:15 | France:-16 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA | USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:18

Filming Locations:

Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK

Company:

Momentum Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: When Callum is chasing Davie's Dad with the Crossbow. As he slides down the cliffs while following him the Crossbow goes from being cocked, to de-cocked, and back to cocked again.

Movie Connections:

References "Zorro" (1957)

Suspenseful modern horror

Wilderness isn't a great modern horror film, but it does a good job of taking old ideas and rehashing them into a fresh and exciting plot line. The influences to the film are clear, with the much-copied classic 'The Most Dangerous Game' being fused with more modern films such as 'Battle Royale'. The basic plot line isn't too far removed from your common slasher film, but director Michael J. Bassett gives him film an extra edge by putting the focus on the struggle as the protagonists battle with the wilderness (naturally), the main threat and even each other. The plot focuses on a group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to an uninhabited island when a young lad staying in their home is found to have committed suicide. However, the island doesn't turn out to be uninhabited at all, as aside from a local hermit; there's also a group of girls there with the same idea - and some mad psycho with a crossbow and a group of bloodthirsty German Shepherds, who is seemingly hell bent on not letting any of them off the island alive!

The director seems more bothered about atmosphere and tension than characters; as while some of the people inhabiting the film are well defined, their actions are often questionable and none of them are particularly interesting. But even so, this isn't a problem; as the film is constantly suspenseful and the fact that there is an unseen psycho in the woods bodes well with the atmosphere on display. Michael J. Bassett seems keen to go against the clichés of the horror genre, as there is no mystery to the killer's identity after the first half of the film and the crossbow weapon works well. There's a fair amount of gore on display, although the film never matches the initial death sequence in the wilderness in terms of gore. The acting isn't terrible, but the 'thick' British accents sound really phoney to an actual Brit like me. Sean Pertwee is the only recognised name on the cast list, but the rest of the cast; which is made up of mostly British television stars, provide adequate performances. Overall, Wilderness is certainly a good horror film and comes recommended.