Crow Valley

source: Crow Valley

As someone who has seen many psychological horror films, I felt that this film offered a unique twist to a story about survival and abduction. What made the film unique is that it is in part a story about redemption. Rarely have I seen a film in which the protagonist develops a certain degree of empathy for his attacker; usually these types of films go no further than showing characters trying to survive. His motivation is explained through a series of plot twists which leads him to change direction at the end of the film and try to save a troubled individual who had done such horrible things to him. In a way, it reaches much deeper than other films of this genre by exploring themes of forgiveness (to a certain extent) and trying to find some level of understanding between these individuals who were set against each other. He did try to save his attacker's life and ultimately did not seem to be successful. The last shot shows him being visited by her mother's ghost. Was she going to haunt him...or was she going to thank him for his efforts? It was complicated and ambiguous, in a very intriguing way.

Good looking guy thinks he's been knocked of his bike , "rescued " by a young woman. Who clearly turns out to be helping him...At first ...then the good stuff..

Crow Valley (2022) is an Australian movie that I recently watched on Prime. The storyline follows a mountain biker riding a trail in Crow Valley when a car hits him in what appears to be a hit and run and he wakes up in a bed in a strange house. He initially thinks he's saved from his circumstances but everything isn't as it appears. This movie is produced, written, directed by and stars Josh Conn, in his only major motion picture project. This also stars Nicole Freeman (Mental), Jessica Leaming (Winners & Losers) and Isabella Tognon (The Last Summer). This has a made for television feel to it with mediocre writing and dialogue that is painful. The best part of the movie is the accents. The horror elements were weak and they needed more intense scenes, like Misery. The wounds in this are well made and there's some splashes of gore when characters get injured, but not enough to make this a worthwhile movie. This is one of those movies you're okay if everyone dies, the good and bad guys, and you really don't find yourself rooting for the victim or villain. Overall, this is a poor addition to the horror genre that's not worth your time. I would score this a 2.5/10 and recommend watching Misery instead.

This is a film by a dude who desperately wants his name to be out there. Playing three roles, all of them poorly, he should have hired actual actors to give these one dimensional tropes some actual grit. I hated both characters and wanted to see them both dead before movies end. Don't waste your time on this garbage.

"We're gonna get out of here". Ah you hear those words in a thriller a lot. And unless you've never seen one from that genre, they usually come from the leading light. Anyway I'm talking about 2022's Crow Valley, a film so compact and condensed it could fly away. I mean we hardly know anything about the characters if it weren't for the immense flashbacks. And yeah, "Valley" feels almost unfinished if not for the flick's hints of moral ambiguity. So is Crow Valley an ego trip for writer, director, and star Josh Conn? It appears that way but the dude seems to be decent at his craft. And does "Valley" have a solid look considering the budget was probably nil? Sure why not. I mean Australia is well, Australia. Crow Valley is familiar material, so familiar that you salivate for it to push the envelope a little more (the running time is a paltry 77 minutes). Echoing stuff like Misery and 2005's Hard Candy, "Valley" is about a mountain biker (Josh Conn as Benny) who gets involved in a hit and run. The kicker is that the girl who commits the hit and run (Nicole Freeman as Greta), holds the biker captive in a random's house. Torture, conflict, and chaos ensue because Benny committed his own hit and run in the past. Call it revenge, call it tit for tat, call Greta in the end loony tunes (that's because she is). All in all, Crow Valley is so earnest to get to where it's going we never absorb the viewing experience enough. Added to that, whatever violent acts are shown seem shoddily edited as if the forecast wouldn't allow for more carnage. "Valley" almost feels like a short. In film a short is roughly 40 minutes so we're not far off here. Finally, where the heck is Crow Valley anyway? Oh wait it is fictional, just a small lake and some trees. Crow Valley isn't a dud but it comes real close to eating "crow".

I enjoyed the story. The acting was ok not completely horrible. It was just a straight forward movie, nothing special or memorable about it. I went in with low expectations and no spoilers, just like I like it. Now reading some reviews and I cannot think of the name of the movie with the bby-sitter who was a loser and sit for a lezbian couple with their biracial child. Anywho, that movie was directed and written by the star of that movie and it has a very high rating on IMDb. I do not think it should matter if you wrote or directed it as long as your ass can act, js. I do not recommend this movie though unless your very bored and I myself will not be watching it again.

When the movie is written, directed and starring the same person, this raises red flags, as too often the person cannot see the flaws in the product. And this movies carries on that tradition. Benny is headed into Crow Valley to do some bicycling when he gets a flat. He is far from places that could help him and it seems he has no repair kit with him. But before he can be concerned about that, he is hit by a car and seriously hurt. He wakes up in a cabin, and Greta tells him she was hiking in the area, saw him and dragged him to the cabin. She has all sorts of reasons why he has to stay there and cannot get help. One cannot help but think about the movie Misery. It turns out Greta has a controlling mother, may not take her meds, and is prone to hallucinations. Benny's big mistake is that he feels he can exert leverage over Greta to improve his situation, but we find out things are not as they seem. Editing could have been better and the script certainly needed many improvements.

Josh Conn(Benny) is listed as the writer, director and producer of this Misery rip-off. He is also the lead actor. Mr. Conn should find another career choice because filmmaking is not his his strong suit. A deranged young woman, Greta/Olivia is a delusional human being who has hallucinations throughout. Mom is shown being mean to Greta/Olivia with maddening flashbacks and eventually the nutcase has an unsettling encounter with Benny and his bicycle. What follows is a bloody and nonsensical story that ends with a whimper. Conn should have thrown the script on the barbie. Goodday, mates!

Sorry to say this didn't provide anything new and the dialogue felt forced and unbelievable. No need to waste your time on this one. Think Misery meets Psycho with the thrills.