Desolation (2017) Reviews

• Desolation: Bland but passable

  Platypuschow2018-01-13

  Going into Desolation I had no idea what to expect, it was a nameless pick & mix movie for me. It tells the story of a pair of friends and a teenage boy who go hiking in the woods only to be stalked by a mysterious figure in black. It's very paint by number stuff but is done well enough to be entertaining. Our delightful stalker has no gimmick, he has no motivation and I really didn't like that. This Rob Zombie looking git had no character at all which hurt the film. Ultimately it delivers provided you aren't seeking originality or surprises. Its copy and paste the movie with every cliche in the book, but is just good enough to get past that. The Good: Well made Fairly tense Decent finale The Bad: Nothing original Dull antagonist Things I Learnt From This Movie: Maybe the killers motive was that kid being really annoying

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• Middle of the road, but enjoyable

  AverageJoesDriveInPodcast2018-05-17

  This is a decent film. There's not a whole lot that's memorable about it, but it's not terrible by any means. There's a good chemistry between the two lead actresses and the actor who plays the son holds his own. There are a few moments of decent tension throughout, but nothing that really made me jump or put me on edge. Depending on who the viewing audience is, I think it could be rather effective. I liked the fact it didn't follow all the standard tropes you might expect something like this to fall into. That was a pleasant surprise for me. The movie moves along at a good pace and the short runtime is actually to its benefit. I think any longer and there would have been too many 'hurry up and get moving' moments. It seems this was done on a lower budget and there are times when it's obvious, but it doesn't affect the story so I can give it a pass when it comes to those moments. I'll warn you if you're a gore hound and looking for a lot of gore, this film has next to none. If you're looking for everything to be telegraphed and laid out for you, you may not enjoy it. There's a lot left up to the viewers to figure out and piece together. But, it's a horror/thriller and I personally don't really need everything explained, I can just go with it. I know that's not the case for everyone. So, be warned, if you're that type of viewer, you might want to skip it.

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• Typical Horror movie

  lil_penpen-96-8071132018-05-08

  This is just a bad movie not worth your time to watch. Bratty kid. Over protective mom. Bad influence friend of mom. Innocent hiker trying to stop them from littering by murdering them. Save yourself an hour of your life and do something else.

• Decent

  karma-082182018-06-05

  This definitely isn't the best film out there, but it wasn't terrible. It had some good tension and I got a good creepy vibe from the antagonist throughout the movie. There is really no explanation for him, but I didn't mind that. Who knows what kind of creepy people lurk in the woods in the middle of nowhere after all? The acting is decent though the characters make some painfully questionable decisions. This is probably the most irritating part of the movie. I liked that it has a short running time so they don't keep drawing out the situation. This helps the movie. It's not winning any awards, but it's definitely not the worst movie out there.

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• An Effective Low-budget Thriller

  jburtonprod-802-7590292018-05-17

  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.

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