Desolation

source: Desolation

Nothing really new here except I don't think that I've ever watched a movie where the protagonists decide to go to sleep when they know they're being stalked through the woods as much as this group did...who would be able to sleep?!?! The small cast did good with what they were given. The initial set-up was tense enough and the killer was somewhat interesting in a mysterious way when he was kept farther away from the group. But as soon as the killer reached their campsite, the characters start doing dumb things and the killer wasn't so interesting anymore. I was surprised he was able to attack anyone in the dark woods considering he never took his sunglasses off! He had a very blank expression on his face throughout the movie and the most emotion that comes from him is when the kid breaks his sunglasses LOL!

I enjoyed the tension this movie created without the usual, "heavy-on-the-gore" of most films of this genre. Very fine performances by the two female leads. Question for anyone out there who might know: Were some of the scenes shot in California or Nevada? I've lived in upstate NY and clearly most of the film was shot there, but I've also lived in California and some of the scenes look to have been shot there, in particular the scene near the end where the mom makes it to the campground and to the Jeep. The trees look to be Ponderosa pines (which do not grow in New York) and the underbrush has a lot of sagebrush or sagebrush-like bushes growing everywhere -- which also do not grow in New York. If anyone who worked on this film can answer, I'd really appreciate it as my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Thanks!

Even if you can't come up with an exact title or two as proof of your conclusion, I am pretty confident that while watching "Desolation", you'll be saying "I have seen this basic story before." Needless to say, this saga of innocent people being stalked by a madman in the woods is sorely lacking originality. But it probably could have worked again, albeit in a somewhat familiar sense, if the filmmakers had added some spark. However, there is no real sign that the filmmakers were trying to make this stand out from the rest of the movies in the backwoods slasher genre. It takes forever for the movie to get going, with more than half of the movie going by before the protagonists find they are in serious trouble, with the movie padded out with inconsequential footage right up to that point. And when the protagonists start to flee for their lives, there is pretty much no tension or suspense. The movie just seems to be going through the motions weakly. One main reason for that is that the stalker is a pretty boring figure; he doesn't talk, just stands around and watches a lot, and has no apparent motivation for why he's doing what he's doing. About the only thing the filmmaker manage to do is make the movie look okay for its low budget; it's fairly well shot in scenic locations. Apart from that, this is pretty much a misfire, and I would have given it a much lower rating had it not just been 76 minutes long. You'd be better off seeking a copy of the 1977 Canadian backwoods horror movie "Rituals" instead.

Some people are not cut out for making movies. Bad acting, bad directing and bad everything else!

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.

Hands down the worst movie I have ever seen. None of it is logical. Who hikes 4 days worth away from their car? Why don't they run? Do they all have arthritis (including the 10 year old boy)? The boy gets quite murderous a little too much a little too late. AND THEN they have to walk home? RIDICULOUS

It was so bad, that we laughed, thinking did we really just waste time of our life on this. Do not waste your time.

I guess when you are setting out to make a "dead camper" type horror movie you should really pay attention to the impact the killer or stalker will have on the overall affect. We find out in the first few minutes that this mute dude seems like he got lost in the woods coming home from a rock concert and is to shy to ask for help finding his buddies. Any horror movie creep or killer that you feel like you could just walk up to them at any time and say hey $#@ head take a hike, is not very intimidating. I think had they cast a better stalker this movie would have received much higher grades.

You'd have to be desperate to watch this so-called horror movie. The 13-year-old boy had no personality, which might be why you don't care what happens to him. There was definitely something wrong, this should have been a nail-biter. Rather than take sleeping pills, watch this flick, you'll be asleep in no time. The best lines were given to the stalker...he didn't have any.