Majorthebys
Charming and brutal
Calum Hutton
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
Hayleigh Joseph
This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Sto'bought
There are some twists and turns, and some unexpected story line thrills. The gore rates a 5 out of 10--realistic enough but not too creepy for anybody over 14 maybe. Stellar performances from all actors involved--character personalities are quickly defined. Girl in pain from a past mistake and naturally humble, confident friend (seen only in the beginning), jaded Summer camp director, mysterious camp counselor who defies the viewer to trust him, and a smooth-talking psychopath (aren't they always?) masquerading as a fisherman. The main glitch of the film is that the girl was supposed to be on the island only one day and night, but for some reason never explained she stays on the island two days and two nights. As Psychopath Horror films go, and there are many of them, this one turns the genre squarely on its head.
mskeidee
This movie is way better than the one I previously reviewed, it at least knows how to execute the jumpy scenes fairly and will, at some point give you a slight thrill.The story plot may appear a bit common for people who loves the genre but most may agree that such stories doesn't easily get old specially if the direction is "at least" good. The music and camera shots are okay. (not super great but okay)The actors are also able to give justice to their characters and was able to give the convincing feel that they are actually involved in the scenes. In short, the movie is good enough for me to not give it a super flopping score. So if you can't think of something else better to do, I definitely recommend this movie to keep you busy.
ted-peterson
Spoiler AlertThe music by composer Todor Kobakov is probably the best part of this movie and for budget fare, is quite good. The main actress (character is more apt because there is little acting here.) Nancy Clark is a teen possessed by demons of her dead sister. Oh my. Instead of therapy, let's go to a creepy camp as a counselor and willingly accept isolation on an island with a ghost? The movie is highly derivative but how can one not be in this genre? The acting is minimal and every actor accents the creepiness factor with little result. The camp director is more creepy than the exiled counselor/murderer. Richard Clarkin as "Fred" so overacts and mugs his scenes that it's almost comic. Maybe that's how he prepared for his wooden performance. He gets bonked on the head and dies where everyone else who gets bonked survives somehow. Oh Boy. The credits list a therapist (This person never appears in the movie.) and I have a feeling that the therapist was there for the actors coming to grips with minimal direction and guilt from mugging. Supposedly this Gillian (Clark) is forced, as some kind of camp hazing, to spend the night alone on an island. She's rarely alone on this island and the predictable players appear right on cue. She's damaged goods having been the cause of her sisters demise some years earlier in a pool drowning. But even with cutaway scenes, this part of the plot goes nowhere. Either does this movie. Productions values are high but I would find a better writer. Isaac Cravit creates some decent shots and there are some interesting camera angles but the writing, UGH! It's horrible and none of the elements presented in the exposition are worked out. Instead, we get new one as if we will be surprised. This is a major flaw and I mean major. When scenes are supposed to be suspenseful, you find your self thinking WTF? That could have been handled a lot better. I don't think a suspense movie is supposed to create the suspense for the next missed story or cinematic idea, We all know these movies are based on supposedly smart people doing stupid things and this movie is no exception. But here we have a stupid writer/director who got lost in his own brilliance or lack thereof. Also, his timing is off. some scenes end and but the shot continues. Others never find an overall rhythm . The editor, Adam Locke-Norton must have been pulling his hair out and arguing constantly to shorten some of the takes. Alas, he lost the arguments.
TheCornProject
Let me pitch you an idea, please tell me if it sounds familiar at all. Here goes: A young outcast named Gillian is desperately trying to cope with the emotional trauma of her sister's death (*cough* drowning accident *cough*). As part of her therapy for coping with the pain, she decides that she wants to be a... camp counselor. Like all new camp counselors, she first must listen to campfire tales of horror. One story in particular grabs her attention. It's about a little girl named Jason Voorhees (oops I mean Janie) who accidentally "disappeared" from the camp several decades ago. Don't worry, in order to avoid copyright issues we'll avoid using the words "drowned" and "distracted counselors" from now on. Anyway, there's this island in the lake which the girl supposedly haunts from time to time. Therefore it only makes sense that Gillian, a mentally unstable suicidal teen, is marooned on that very same island as part of her initiation. However fear not for our young heroine is never left alone at any point. She is always under the watchful eye of the resident counselor and hornbag Marty who sneaks across to the island. Like every other sexed up male character from bygone horror movies, Marty comes across with the pretense of being friendly even though it is obvious what his true intentions are. However, he doesn't get the chance to do much before the party is interrupted. It seems that Gillian and Marty aren't the only people (or things) living on the island and it doesn't take long before the real stalking begins.Clearly, the film has borrowed more than a few creative elements from the Friday the 13th series. At times, it is effective especially early in the film. However in an effort to come across as somewhat original, Solo departs from the usual slasher formula and attempts to twist the concept. Is it purely psychological or is the threat actually tangible? As far as the acting is concerned, our lead actress Annie Clark who bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer Lawrence was surprisingly able to carry the film through its short running time. Annie clearly has talent and I hope to see more feature films from her in the future. Veteran actor Daniel Kash also has a decent turn as the psychotic camp counselor although the film fails to develop his character sufficiently. Overall, the film only managed to capture my imagination and attention span for fleeting moments. If you want psychological terror in an isolated setting, I'd recommend that you watch Eden Lake instead of this.2.5/5