You can tell there wasn't a lot of money behind this movie and the subject has been done to death but this is a well constructed and well acted thriller, that also manages to operate as a sort of coming of age story.
The setup couldn't be more simple. A woman, her son and a family friend go camping and encounter a deadly stalker. What happens after that isn't so formulaic (other than the death of someone). I liked the acting. The trio behaves very naturally, not a lot of overreacting and carrying on like you see in a lot of slasher movies. AND there is a sub-plot, the husband and father has recently died and now the mother and son are trying to adjust to life without him. Toby Nichols is very effective as the son who now wants to be taken seriously as the 'man of the family'. He and Jaime Paige make a very believable family unit. Alyshia Osche adds some charm as the family friend. Claude Duhamel who plays the stalker is sufficiently creepy.
This kind of stripped down story and production makes it have a sort of 70s vibe. I liked where they went with the story. The mother and son behave like they are desperate but they aren't idiots and though they make the type of missteps people in a panic inducing situation would make, they prove very resourceful. I also like that the film makers didn't resort to a Horror cliche I truly hate, the false ending.
On a side note, the one song in the movie, 'Memory' really works. The stalker uses it to creep out that campers. It sounds like a song from the 40s so I checked. Nope, written in 2013 and you can pick it for 5 bucks as a digital download.
Anyway, I liked the movie. I give it a 7.5 and round it up a half point to compensate for the idiots on IMDB that live to trash movies. 'Desolation' is a good littler thriller and at 116 minutes, it flies by. Definitely worth a watch.
The setup couldn't be more simple. A woman, her son and a family friend go camping and encounter a deadly stalker. What happens after that isn't so formulaic (other than the death of someone). I liked the acting. The trio behaves very naturally, not a lot of overreacting and carrying on like you see in a lot of slasher movies. AND there is a sub-plot, the husband and father has recently died and now the mother and son are trying to adjust to life without him. Toby Nichols is very effective as the son who now wants to be taken seriously as the 'man of the family'. He and Jaime Paige make a very believable family unit. Alyshia Osche adds some charm as the family friend. Claude Duhamel who plays the stalker is sufficiently creepy.
This kind of stripped down story and production makes it have a sort of 70s vibe. I liked where they went with the story. The mother and son behave like they are desperate but they aren't idiots and though they make the type of missteps people in a panic inducing situation would make, they prove very resourceful. I also like that the film makers didn't resort to a Horror cliche I truly hate, the false ending.
On a side note, the one song in the movie, 'Memory' really works. The stalker uses it to creep out that campers. It sounds like a song from the 40s so I checked. Nope, written in 2013 and you can pick it for 5 bucks as a digital download.
Anyway, I liked the movie. I give it a 7.5 and round it up a half point to compensate for the idiots on IMDB that live to trash movies. 'Desolation' is a good littler thriller and at 116 minutes, it flies by. Definitely worth a watch.