Pánico en las alturas

Having seen the more popular and might I say average to poor movies at the present time like Inbetweeners, Cowboys & Aliens & Final Destination 5 I wasn't planning to go to the cinema anytime soon. I just happened to catch a very short advert for ALPTD on the TV and checked it out on IMDb. Having a good review score we decided to go see it. To my surprise only one out of three cinemas was showing this movie and on arrival noticed the lack of people in the theatre (Three couples including us). I started to think that we had made a wrong choice. How wrong I was. The sheer scale of the opening scene was breath taking and really drew us in ready for the rest of the film. The pace of the film was perfect and the element of surprise was always there. There were 1 or 2 minor continuity errors but these were cleared up within the next few minutes. The level of violence was just right for a film like this not being glamorised or pornographied. I have to point out also that the child abuse issue is handled very well and the bar is set at what may be considered to be a 'comfortable movie level' (if there is such a thing), it could have been a lot worse but the director clearly has morals and making it quite clear it is not that type of film although it could have quite easily been. The excitement runs consistently throughout and the music/sound effects add to the overall excitement. Although a few of the actors are slightly wooden this is quickly and cleverly counter acted/covered up by the good ones and fast passed action. Good story, cleverly layed out in a gorgeous but deadly setting. Who could ask for more.

The trailer for this film made it look like an excellent little low-budget mountaineering thriller, set in the Scottish wilds. Melissa George and buddies being stalked by a gang of human traffickers, no doubt being picked off one by one by a rifle with telescopic sights. Hard to get wrong, right? Well, no, actually, because A LONELY PLACE TO DIE is the perfect example of a good premise going astray.

The opening sequence of this film could accurately be described as nail-biting. The subsequent events, setting up the characters and then the big twist in the woods – all are portrayed accurately. The chase through the wilderness scenes are fine. Then, at around halfway through, this film suddenly falls to pieces. The writers just haven't got a clue how to sustain momentum. The action moves to a town, and that turns out to be the worst possible thing they could do, because then it becomes a ludicrous shoot-em-up.

Melissa George, by now a seasoned veteran of horror/thrillers, makes for an engagingly tough heroine. Sean Harris has always been an ice-cold villain and doesn't disappoint. But wait, what's all this? A whole new trio of leading characters, brought into the action late on, suddenly taking over the limelight? Despite Eamonn Walker being a gifted actor, the shift in focus just doesn't work. And if I see ONE more scene in which the characters meet up with a cop who then gets shot, I'll scream.

By the end, this is tripe of the highest order, and a real disappointment. It started off so well too. Once again, check out the Spanish thriller KING OF THE HILL to see how it SHOULD be done...

This movie started off well with an interesting idea, but somehow ran out of steam, or commitment, about half way through.

Melissa George and her friends go climbing in Scotland and stumble across a secret buried in the woods. They try and go for help but discover that they're not alone. The movie starts off as slow burning and intriguing, with plenty of sweeping shots of the rugged Scottish landscape, it then changes abruptly about half way through, losing all of its subtlety and becomes a standard chase movie with guns. It's almost as if the director lost their nerve and decided to go for blood and glory just in case the audience gets a little bored. Some scenes seem to be thrown in just so someone else can be killed, and the body count by the end of the movie is a bit on the high side.

The acting is fine, and I don't have any huge issues with the script, it's just it could of been a nice little thriller rather than half a good movie, and half a predictable one.

Basically the anti-Kill List, instead of slowly building to an incredible conclusion this one starts off with the intensity at ten and then peaks way too soon, leading to a disappointing final act. That doesn't take away from the power of the first hour though. The premise is horror simplicity; a group of friends go up to the mountains to do some climbing and stumble across something they weren't supposed to.

The first hour leads them down this dangerous road of bullets and blood that honestly had me straining to catch my breathe. A lot of, "Holy crap!" moments almost from the start and the insanity just builds as more characters are introduced and the intensity is matched by the pure mystery of just what in the hell is going on in these mountains.

Of course like most cases of such a promising start, as we get more answers to who these people are and what their motivation is things become significantly more mundane and lead to a final act that just equates to waiting for what you know is going to happen to happen. It's really disappointing because that middle act has got to be some of the most intense stuff I've seen all year and I'd say it's worth watching for that alone, even if it doesn't pay off on it's promise.

Great locations and nice production with some lovely set pieces. I enjoyed this... solid film making deffo give it a while.