Iron Ridge (2008)

When two friends from the city take a vacation to the wilds of Montana, they find themselves lost in the depths of the big sky country.

Director:

Stu Brumbaugh

Writer:

Stu Brumbaugh

Stars:

Casey Anderson, Randy Barrett, Brutus the Bear

Cast

Credited cast:
Casey Anderson	...	Jake Munro
Randy Barrett	...	Carl Martin
Brutus the Bear	...	The Grizzly
Dan Bertus	...	Jim Franklin
Daryl Brumbaugh	...	Sam
Stu Brumbaugh	...	William Price
David Duesterbeck	...	Mounted Cavalry Soldier
Bill Galt	...	Bill
Keith Herrin	...	Cavalry Troop Commander
William Klundt	...	Police Officer 2
Huck McGowan	...	Cavalry Rider
Noah Scott	...	Police Officer 1
Jason Seibel	...	Dan Porter
Tianta Stevens	...	Mindy Franklin
Jadi Stuart	...	Jessica Price

Storyline

When two friends from the city, Jake Munro and William Price go deep into the back country of Montana for a once in a lifetime hunting trip, They find themselves right in the middle of one of the worlds most rugged and hostile environments. When one of the young men finds himself lost in the mountain terrain of the Big Sky country unprepared and unequipped, he will have only his instinctive skills and the dedication of a determined semi-retired forest ranger to save his life. With a bad winter storm rolling in and the search being called off, it is just a matter of time before the lost hunter realizes that his chances of survival are hopeless, especially when he learns that a bloodthirsty grizzly is tracking him. Now, with life-threatening injuries he will attempt to do the unthinkable, even if it costs him his life. With the history of the area and the vast forest system of the Iron Ridge mountain range it will be a miracle if he makes it out alive

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Plot Keywords:

montana | mountain | winter storm | hunter | grizzly bear | 

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Taglines:

Lost in the wild of Iron Ridge, only to find a greater wild within himself...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Deer Lodge, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yellow Wood Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was "Brutus the Bear", a 1000lb grizzly's first feature film.

User Reviews

Near miss

Iron Ridge is a very low budget effort that doesn't quite merit a truly negative review, but neither is it a quality film. The story essentially involves a hunter lost in the mountains attempting to survive, and the mountain rescue worker attempting to find him before it's too late.

I'll start with what doesn't work in Iron Ridge, the lead actors are not seasoned thespians so performances are spotty. The actor playing the part of lead rescuer is not up to the challenge of handling the role. That is, he does not have a relaxed manner in front of the camera, and seeing how his character is vital to the story it only hurts the film. Iron Ridge also fails to make better use of it's outdoor locations, there are one or two moments but overall cinematography is somewhat standard fare.

Here's what I did like about the film, the two men who play the hunters do a decent job performance wise and they physically look the part of young outdoors-men. The story of being lost in the wilderness and trying to survive is one I never tire of seeing, and this aspect is central to the film. Finally, though the DVD synopsis and cover art is somewhat misleading in that a grizzly does not play a major part in this story of survival, what very little screen time the bear has is worthwhile. Having collected feature films that feature grizzly bear in the storyline (odd I know) I've seen several grizzly thespians and Brutus the Bear is certainly a great example of the species, and has terrific screen presence.

This is a project I wish writer/director/actor Stu Brumbaugh had a larger budget with which to work, this may have corrected some of my complaints about the film. While I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to those who enjoy outdoor adventure films and there isn't any truly objectionable material for family viewing, it does fall just short of being a better adventure film.