Wilderness

source: Wilderness

This film was on my radar for more than a decade. Saw this recently. It is a bloody n brutal take on the revenge n survival saga. Young offenders r sent to an isolated island for disciplinary method. The locations r picturesque but the plot has many flaws. Ignore the flaws n u get a bloody good time. There are ferocious dogs n the maulings r frighteningly gory. Ther is also a very innovative immolation scene, few stabbings n axe chopping the shoulder scene. Now I came to kno that Adam Green got the body slicing axe scene in Hatchet 1 from this film. Some may crib that the killer's identity is revealed very early. Inspite of the director being new n the budget not that great, the film is a solid thriller n the best part is the entire film is shot in broad daylight n ther r no pov or shaky cam stuff. I enjoyed this film after 13 years of its release, imagine the impact the film wud have done 13 yrs back. I have liked M.J. Bassett's Deathwatch but found his Silent Hill 2 n Solomon Kane dull. Obviously films like Deliverance, Southern Comfort, Rituals aka Creeper, Just Before Dawn, The Most Dangerous Game, etc. may come to mind.

Well, what do I say, really? This film (for me) was typical British horror. There is a lot of gore, but it all gets abit tiresome after a while....yes, you actually get sick of seeing it. I am big fan of horror movies (a very big fan in fact) and enjoy seeing gore, you know, the type that makes you feel sick and hope to god it never happens to you. And I have to admit, that this film does make you think that in some places. But, to start with, this film sorta takes you in abit, you're following the story, wondering "whats going to happen"...so thats a good thing right? Well, the first few times you see the gore, you think "oh my god, thats gross"...then you see it again and you're like "ewww"...then you see it again and eventually, you end up just watching this gore with no reaction what-so-ever because you've seen enough of it already....and this, is a common problem with most British horror films (like 28 days later). Some of the acting isn't brilliant either...and correct me if i'm wrong, but i got the impression this was a pretty low budget movie. You could predict pretty much everything from start to finish, and the so called "twist" at the end...is abit poor....the fact they couldn't think of anything else (but i won't spoil the 'fantastic' ending for you) If you're a fan of repetitive and predictable gore...go ahead and watch this. But if you'd rather watch a film with abit more brains...give this one a miss.

Rubbish Brit horror/thriller type film aimed at a stupid teen target audience. Im sorry to say but I just wasted 90 mins or so watching this. If you like teen nobodies trying to act in a lame films be my guest and watch this. Weak characters and a tired "killem off one at a time" theme. Sean Pertwee, what are you doing in rubbish like this? Its a really cheap rip off of the mediocre Severance. If you liked Severance you may like this too, good luck. 2/10. Why cant British film makers make decent films anymore. This has been likened to 28 days later and Dog soldiers. I agree, its continuing the theme of crap Brit horror films that could have been so much better.

Sean Pertwee stars as Jed,a warden at a Young Offenders' Institute,who's assigned to take a group of dangerous inmates to a deserted island for an Outward Bound course after one of their dorm-mate commits suicide because of vicious bullying.Things look up when the group runs into a couple of girls but it isn't long before their numbers start rapidly diminishing,thanks to an unseen assailant intent on picking them off one by one.This insanely bloody survival horror is truly exciting and well-made.The characters are well-developed and some of the gory deaths are suitably shocking.The biggest problem with Wilderness is that it kills off its most likable characters too early on and the ostensible lead is underwritten so it's hard to really care about him.Still if you like survivalist horror cinema give this one a chance.

This was a crappy copy of Dog Soldiers, without the added comedy element and the excitement of werewolves. The only good thing about it was Sean Pertwee, and he didn't last five minutes, after that I might as well have fallen asleep. Considering the makers obviously cast him to draw the crowds to the only known name in the film, he was vastly under-used and under-credited. The unknown young actors did do a good job, so all credit to them, but the movie itself was very mediocre. If this does better than Dog Soldiers, which in my mind should have gained far more recognition than it did, I will be extremely disappointed.

I'm sure someone had the honest intend to make something out of this but truth be told, tedium as a word is more captivating than the entirety of this flick. Any film that flunks does that primarily for a single reason, some exceptions of course. This one does by having nothing to show besides the premise which can be seen in any other horrorflick. When u think of it, it's even a bit awkward to see people make a film that basically again just has a bunch of people being somewhere for them to be murdered off one by one - The End - This movie stands out in being unoriginal, somehow i even thought it to be somewhat of a cute attempt, maybe being written by a 12 year old for a school writing contest? just another pointless flick i guess.. 2/10

This film has got to be a joke, is this what British cinema has come to? The dialogue in this film was poor and I'm sure if you were to see someones head stuck on a spike, you wouldn't stand there and walk away without screaming your lungs out. This film can be compared to a bad version of dog soldiers. My opinion, don't waist your time with this film. A good story line but badly acted out, I suggest you see Battle Roayal, same island concept with people killing each other but more interesting. Im surprised a Hollywood version is not out yet since Hollywood remakes everything. The film does have some gory bits with quite a fair bit of blood.

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.

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.