Wilderness Survival for Girls

Caught this one during a one-week run at a Denver theater. Although I initially was intrigued by a movie filmed in my home state, WSFG actually was an accomplished film for reasons other than its location. Three girlfriends head up to a family cabin for a post-high-school-pre-college getaway (a tradition many of us, including myself, participated in). As the three do some hiking, sunbathing (this part may give some older viewers an uncomfortable, dirty-old-man vibe), drinking and pot-smoking, divisions between the three characters are revealed, and gradually go from subtle to tense. Things really get complicated when the stoned girls begin to hear noises outside the cabin. Just when it looks like WSFG may be the kind of McSlasher that studios churn out every other week, the story gets deeper as the mysterious stranger in the woods is revealed to be a sad-sack middle-aged guy who has been squatting in the cabin. As the night progresses, the characters' motives are revealed, and may just surprise the viewer. WSFG sets itself apart from the aforementioned generic slashers because the filmmakers understand that, if properly handled, a tense dialogue can be more jarring than a nubile teenybopper running from a maniac. In this movie, characters are developed and real, as it is revealed that each of the girls has her own issue to confront, scary man in the woods or not. Distribution for WSFG is precarious. If you happen to get the chance, however it may come, to see this little picture, fans of suspense movies likely will be taken by this stronger-than-usual offering. P.S. I have no connection to the filmmakers, BTW. - JF