Wilderness (2006)

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

Director:

M.J. Bassett (as Michael J. Bassett)

Writer:

Dario Poloni

Stars:

Sean Pertwee, Alex Reid, Toby Kebbell

Cast

Cast overview:
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

Storyline

In a juvenile detention center, the inmate Dave commits suicide after being abused with his friend Lindsay by the sociopath bullies Steve and Lewis under the indifference of the other cell-mates. The governor sends them to an uninhabited island to improve their relationships and characters under the command of the tough monitor Jed. They meet another camping with female delinquents under the command of veteran soldier Louise and they camp in another area. However, when they are attacked by a pack of dogs and a mysterious man with a cross-bow wearing camouflage, they join forces fighting to survive under the leadership of Callum.

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Plot Keywords:

island | survival | bully | juvenile detention | prisoner | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

A vadász

Box Office

Budget:

£3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Momentum Pictures, Baker Street, Ecosse Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

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.

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Alternate Versions

The distributor had requested the film be considered for a '15' when it was seen by the BBFC in the UK, but the language in the film was considered too strong for '15'. The distributor chose to reduce the very strong language in the film's final edit, leaving a single use of 'c**t' where there had originally been four uses.

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Connections

References Zorro (1957)

User Reviews

Happy Hunting… and good riddance.

After a fellow inmate commits suicide due to the constant bullying and turning a blind eye of his fellow inmates. The young group are shipped off to a deserted island, to build character and bond. However they're not alone and someone with a crossbow and a pack of dogs begin to hunt them down.

Woodland horror. I love this sub-genre. However this particular British item builds an interesting story to only fumble it with half-baked revelations, obnoxious characters and splintered direction. The survival trek is filled with blood soaked surprises, jarring jolts, and a notorious mean streak. Yippy! Yeah some of the wicked deaths are ferocious, but it did become a bit boring. When director Michael J Bassett gets hot under the collar (after slowly milking it out to begin with), he engineers taut and breakneck tension to only let the lean story be navigated by implausible and contrived staples that eventually go on to cement a numbing and uneven pattern. The unmasking of the killer is flat (though its no surprise, and it never is because we find out just after it all begins), and the confrontation comes off lousy and underdone. The characters don't break away from their underwritten, clichéd persona's. They do become a sorry, and tiring bunch that you couldn't care less about. Sure they're not meant to be likable, but hell they really irritated me. But I guess that was the perfect mould though. The story stays firm and simple, going out hard. I have mixed emotions about it, but this is more towards its timing and pushy developments, and how it eventually went about trying to cover its lack of atmosphere with rapid, uncertain movements and bloated shocks. I thought the setting could've been implemented better. Peter J Robertson's professional camera-work gets some nice shots, and his location framing and adventurous style works off fine. The music by Mark Thomas features a foreboding sting. The performances are by the books. Sean Pertwee sits back, Alex Reid gives all her will to the part and Toby Kebbell neurotically goes through the motions. Stephen Wight is probably the pick of the lot as the seething bully skinhead.