El paso del diablo

As a movie, especially one from the category of wobbly shaky camera films, it is not that bad. It's a cliché, from the start to the end, but you can't really blame it for not being the first to do what it does. I also know nothing about the Dyatlov incident and I suspect the movie has little to do with it, other than the name.

Weirdly enough, the name was what drew me to the film and I have no idea why someone would rename it blandly "Devil's Pass", which has absolutely nothing to do with the plot and is probably one of many movies to be thus named.

Anyway, the film: young maniacally happy Americans go to investigate, equipped with apparently a new type of recording device that needs no recharging, since it keeps going for days. They get there, die from various reasons which border from implausible to funny, then end in a kind of Twilight Zone way, with lots of bad CGI.

The idea wasn't really bad, either, just the execution. All in all, it was a classic hand held camera horror, without being scary, though. I liked the sci-fi twist to it all, but not the execution (or the characters, or the actors). I liked that they really went to a place where people actually spoke Russian, not mangled the language horribly in the hope that no viewer actually speaks it.

I can't rate it average. It had too many plot holes, bad cgi, etc. But it was close.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident has some good surprises in it.

First of it all, it has some good scaries. In a time where found footage movies are over satured, the director made a really good effort in this. Its not excellent, don't get me wrong. It passes pretty far from being original but its a solid fun for a Saturday night. The movie is a slow burn but the end is really good. The plot slowly start to make sense and when you finally discover whats really going on, you find yourself surprised with such a good plot in a horror movie. Secondly, its a kind a blair witch project in structure and style and this is not a bad thing, to me at least, cause blair witch is my favorite horror movie ever and in the end it looks like a tribute to me.

Lastly, if you like Blair witch but the end was lame to you, get this movie because its pretty much blair witch less scary but with better plot.

Before watching this one should understand this is not so much about the Dyatlov Incident as it is about a group trying to come up with their own answers by experiencing the Mountain of the Dead for themselves. There are references made about the incident but it really is more about what this group is experiencing.

I thought that this was a decent enough film. There are many different theories and considering the horrific nature of the what happened to the original group, films referencing the incident can easily find their place in the horror genre.

The incident has been one of fascination for me and I love that someone finally decided to put their creative spin on the subject. While the film isn't bad I wish it would've taken a different approach. I hope more folks will take a stab at it. If you are interested in the Dyatlov Incident, check it out. It was interesting.

one thing i can say with certainty is i had no expectations ( no high ones at least), and i was expecting something quite mediocre when i saw renny harlin's name attached as director. certainly his career has been on a downward trajectory of late. but, i have to confess, i found this kind of compelling. there are certainly some interesting ideas even if they don't resolve satisfactorily some of the time . it definitely goes some strange places i wasn't expecting. the mountain scenes are really atmospheric, the actors do well with the material they have. and what starts as a 'found- footage movie' gives way to a sci-fi/horror hybrid. i watched it on a rainy night and didn't feel i'd wasted my time - it got me interested in looking into the real-life mystery so it had some positive effect. i recommend it. it's uneven and sometimes fails to hit the target but this is certainly atmospheric and creepy and shows that the die hard 2 director still has some shots in the sling... i'm going to give it 6 for effort at least : )

Overall, I was entertained by the film. Although I don't usually watch horror, I found that this one had enough to it that I could watch and enjoy it without being very disturbed. Granted, it is frightening at points, particularly the last third of the film, but it was paced well. The way this film takes the found-footage theme is quite well done with good twists and turns, keeping your attention. The acting is quite good, the characters were well-defined and funny when they wanted to be and the camera work is very well done. The visuals, background, camera-work and atmosphere are some of my favorite parts of the movie. It doesn't look like it's being recorded on a roller-coaster until it wants to and when it does, it does it very well, disorienting you until there is something it wants you to see. In conclusion, it is a well done movie, but it feels a hint rough when it comes to story. Pretty good concepts, but just a little rocky coming off. I would recommend watching it if you like found-footage films or if you like suspenseful horror.