Wilderness (2006) Reviews

• An effective thriller.

  Skutter-22007-04-01

  Wilderness is an effective and brutal thriller/horror movie. The premise is straight forward- a group of juvenile offenders and their keeper out on a camping trip are picked off one by one by a mysterious and ruthless killer with a crossbow a pack of attack dogs and a skill for booby traps. It is brutal, violent, fast moving and visceral. It is quite well made- the tension and pace never drops, which is essential for this kind of movie and there is a gritty, unremitting feel to the movie which works in its favour. The deaths are unpleasant and violent and the characters aren't likable keeping it somewhat unpredictable as to what is going to happen, who is going to die and so on. Wilderness doesn't hold back in terms of the violence and nastiness but still keeps, for the most part a gritty realistic vibe and it works. The movie shows you don't necessarily need likable characters but only believable ones to make a movie work. The more likable characters are only more likable by comparison i.e. they are only cowardly or selfish as opposed to being sadistic and cruel. The one character that seems like they may actually be competent and a decent human being is out of the picture comparatively early on. This comes across as lot more credible than those movies which contain groups of supposedly hardened criminals or delinquents who prove to be suitably heroic and noble and band together when it comes to the crunch. The characters here aren't over the top nasty either- they are full of petty meanness and posturing, selfishness and banality without being irredeemably evil as you would probably expect such kids to be in real life. The acting, mostly by fairly unknown young British actors is pretty good and low key- the Brits are generally better at this sort of thing. This gives the film its grittier edge and helps make it a little bit less predictable than it could be. Okay, the designated hero is obvious from the get-go and it isn't too unexpected when most of the unsavoury cast is wiped out but it isn't cloyingly obvious all the way through that things will happened the way you would predict in accordance with movie conventions. The movie is not without flaws. The plot isn't always particularly believable or fresh. It seems strange that there is on one prison guard with this group of about ten juvenile offenders out on a supposedly deserted island and the killer seems almost too effective is dispatching his prey although to be fair it works for the movie in terms of the scariness of the villain and some explanation is provided for his skill in this regard. Toward the end when the hunter and his motivation is revealed he is far less effective a bad guy, his motivation and presence slightly contrived (Though still plausible) and he suddenly seems to become a lot less competent in order for him to be defeated. It might have been better if the makers had left the killer a mysterious motiveless figure. There are a few times when the movie does seem to go a bit too far with its nastiness, the flip side of the movie slack of restraint. The way in which some of the gorier death scenes, such as the first dog killing, are lingered on is a bit too much and toward the end some of the character's abhorrent behaviour comes across as a bit much also (Okay we already knew these guys were scum, can we get on with it). On the whole a slick, well made and exciting movie which is both helped and hampered, but mostly helped, by it's willingness to be mean spirited and harsh.

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• Welcome to the Wildnerness; we got fun & games!

  Coventry2006-03-20

  Call us uncivilized savages if you must, but who honestly doesn't enjoy raw and barbaric adventure-movies in which the blood and violence literally bursts from the screen? In case you were thrilled by movies like "Battle Royale", "Blood Camp Thatcher" or even the more classic milestone "The Most Dangerous Game", you simply have to see "Wilderness"; a brand new British survival-horror effort directed by Michael "Deathwatch" Basset. After the suicide of a fellow inmate, a troop of juvenile delinquents – for whom all hope for rehabilitation was given up long time ago – are sent to a prison island for a severe lesson in elementary life-values. On the island, however, a mad-raving psychopath lies in wait for them and even the innocent guards and some random girls become defenseless targets. Trained and equipped like an experienced hunter, the killer annihilates nearly the whole gang by using deadly booby-traps and ravenous dogs. As you can derive from this brief plot description, originality isn't "Wilderness" biggest trump and the script doesn't even bother to keep the killer's identity secret for a long time. But seriously, who cares about aspects like these when a film is so adrenalin rushing and blood-soaked? The "hunting humans"-premise is mixed with the textbook 80's slasher plot of a revenge-seeking killer, but you aren't given a chance to grumble about the banality, as there is gore and excitement everywhere! The island itself is a captivating location, resulting in masterfully choreographed sequences and some utterly imaginative booby-traps. Unlike in his previous film "Deathwatch", Michael J. Basset definitely doesn't cut back on the blood & gore here, and we're gladdened with close-up shotgun action, amputated body parts, chopped of heads and loads of aggressive dog-action! The character drawings are very well processed and Basset fully uses the nihilistic and totally lackadaisical nature of youthful criminals. These young social outcasts don't care about anyone but themselves and pretty soon there are sub plots involving betrayal, jealousy and cowardly behavior. The sound & visual effects are terrific and Peter Robertson clearly has a talented eye for versatile camera-work. Following films like "Dog Soldiers", "28 Days Later…" and "The Descent", this "Wilderness" is yet another piece of evidence that the British horror industry is working on a remarkable revival nowadays. Highly recommended!

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• Director Michael J. Bassett appears to have discovered his stride

  Craig_McPherson2006-07-15

  Recipe: take one large dollop of Lord of the Flies, toss in a few heaping tablespoons of Southern Comfort, sprinkle with traces of Deliverance, and add The Most Dangerous Game to taste. Blend on high for 110 minutes and presto, you've got a tasty treat of Wilderness, the new survival thriller by Director Michael J. Bassett. Set on a remote uninhabited island used by Britain's correctional services as a retreat for troubled youth, the movie tells the story of a group of juvenile criminals who get sent to the remote location only to find themselves being stalked by a trained killer bent on revenge. Screened at the 2006 edition of Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival, the movie doesn't make much effort to conceal the identity of the stalker. In fact, most viewers can figure this out in the first 15 minutes. However keeping secrets isn't what this story is about. Rather, it's about the thrill of hunting humans, the most sophisticated predator on the planet, and the diverse and innovative tricks involved. Featuring Sean Pertwee, who seems to own a clause in British movie contracts saying he will appear in every UK thriller/horror film under production, the film showcases the talents of a young cast of unknowns who, while not demanded of Shakespearean performances, nonetheless turn in flawless performances to round out the movie. Bassett, whose previous directorial debut was 2002's intriguing but flawed Deathwatch, seems to have found his stride with this effort. Scenes appear carefully thought out and executed, with a nice attention to detail. He clearly understands how to pace a film of this nature, and what works and what doesn't in what clearly was a demanding shoot involving attack dogs, forest chases, fires and numerous stunts. The movie has something for every fan of the genre; beheadings, vicious forest traps, maulings, being eaten alive, crossbows, knife fights, skinheads, near drownings, the list goes on. Viewers can add this to the ever growing list of British horror films such as The Descent, Dog Soldiers, and 28 Days Later (to name only a few) that are currently setting the world standard for delivering quality cinematic chills and thrills.

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• Excellent premise, could have been executed better

  parmenae2006-08-16

  I enjoyed this movie for the most part, but thought the writing/dialog was a little weak at points. I honestly think one of the cheesiest moments in movie history was in this particular movie when the guy offered up a hunk of fresh cooked dog meat to his girl.. and she hugged him gleefully... But anyways, the idea of the movie was pretty cool and I enjoyed the beginning and how they ended up on the island. In the tradition of No Escape and Battle Royale, this is a great addition to the 'island survival' genre but is by no means a stand out. Definitely give it a watch if the synopsis interests you!

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• A horror movie where most of the characters are villains

  Milo-Jeeder2007-05-21

  I had a bad feeling about this movie during the first minutes, even though I had read the plot before. It seemed like a gloomy drama about the life of a bunch of young prisoners, that would end up having almost no room for horror whatsoever. I feared that "Wilderness" would turn out to be one of those films that frantically try to give a lesson about life or something like that. Appealing as that may sound, it didn't look much like a horror movie to me at first and I was very close to leave it unfinished during the first minutes. Fortunately, I was patient enough to realize that I had a pleasant surprise ahead of me, when all of a sudden, the locations changed and the circumstances became far more dangerous than they are inside a prison. So for those of you who think this is probably a movie with a profound message and a big amount of drama, sorry to disappoint you, but this is more than anything a flick meant to be enjoyed by gore lovers. In "Wilderness", a bunch of violent prisoners are sent to an isolated island, after one of the interns commit suicide. It appears that the young cell-mate, whose name was David, felt forced to take his own life, due to the constant, aggressive harassment that he used to suffer from his fellow inmates. The idea for the educational little trip, is to build some self-respect and learn a few things about the values of life, with the object of achieving a better relationship with the others. However, these nasty young rascals won't hesitate to show their true colors as soon as they disembark and they even have the pleasure of coming across a bunch of pretty female convicts from a different group. The whole point of the trip gets quickly forgotten, but a new lesson regarding survival is what the inmates are forced to learn, when the figure of a mysterious hunter appears out of nowhere and starts to chase them for no evident reason. Essentially, "Wilderness" is a movie that is probably not meant to be taken very seriously. It is on the whole an entertaining gore fest with some of the most enjoyable and brutal scenes that can be compared to "Battle Royale", "Wrong Turn", "Friday the 13th" and "Il Camping del Terrore" by Ruggero Deodato (although many people would probably disagree with that). Nevertheless, in the end, it manages to achieve its own dazzling and yet simple denouement, where the mysterious surroundings is revealed in a very simplistic and crude way. The filming location is pretty much one of the highest points of the film. The idea of a killer running wild in an isolated island full of enormous trees and bushes, pretty much creates this unsettling atmosphere of being actually locked up, and the characters somehow appear in real danger for the first time. This is rather ironic, considering that the film takes place in jail during the first minutes. With nothing else to add, I highly recommend this film to anyone who is in the mood for amputation, narrows, bear-traps, fire and wild dogs on the loose.

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