Hostile

Most movies if you don't get me within the first 10 minutes, I'm out. First of all I'm a fan of dystopian and post apocalypse movies, so it got my attention for over 10 minutes, there were deep sigh moments (the can we get the story moving sighs), but it kept me watching, and after a certain point I felt committed to see it through to the end. While I was watching I'm thinking to myself, is it so bad that I'm watching or is it just good enough to keep me watching, whether it's the former or the latter, I didn't regret the watch, but I wish I would've watched a better movie with that time, talk about opportunity costs!!! If you're watched out on the latest or streaming and you want to watch something for the sake of watching, this isn't a bad fare, keep in mind it's a low budget movie with decent writing and decent acting and the story keeps going just enough for you to not bail out.

Up late and found this movie. No need nitpicking this movie, just enjoy it. It's pretty damn good.

Hostile is actually a good movie, but you have to make it to the end to figure that out. There is not nearly enough backstory to make much sense of things, and the ending, although touching, doesn't make logistical sense. Maybe fate? My suggestion? Lower your expectations. Don't analyze it too much. And expect a love story more than anything else. You do that, you'll enjoy this movie.

6/10- Comes together nicely (although not logically)

Movie has a great premise and an interesting setup similar to "Buried", "Locke" or "The Wall", where most of the action is just the lone protagonist communicating with disembodied voices on a radio or cellphone. The post-apocalypse narrative was what I came for, so I was disappointed that so much of the film's scant 83 minute runtime is given over to a distractingly creepy "Pretty Woman"-style romance subplot presented as flashbacks. And when I say it's creepy, I don't mean in the way you want your horror movies to be. I mean the way the controlling, wealthy romantic interest, having met the main character once, later follows her home and then later still imprisons her in his own home until she kicks her heroin habit and falls in love with him. Stockholm Syndrome? The movie acts like this is normal and sweet.

Back in the main storyline, the titular "Hostile" creature is well designed and well played with the correct kind of creepiness to his movements and appearances. The standoff between the creature and Juliette eventually reaches its necessary showdown, to good effect with some nice echoes to "Predator".

The apocalypse happened. "How" morphs itself into "What Now?"

Behind a plethora of sweeping landscape shots depicting the years following an apocalyptic event, Mathieu Turi's feature debut Hostile gives us the story of Juliette (Brittany Ashworth) and her struggle to survive.

Sounds cliche, right?

Wrong. It took a while to digest this film as initially I had written it off as "just another post-apocalyptic film." Let's face it, there are so many in this genre.

The film centers around Juliette and her struggle to stay alive following a debilitating car accident while on a scavenging mission. She must not only survive the barrenness of nature while badly injured, but a threat far more sinister.

We're offered abbreviated glimpses into her life pre-apocalypse as she longs for the days before everything went sideways. During these sequences is when Ashworth really gives a believable depth to her character. There's a palpable honesty in her interaction with the people in her previous life's sphere - most notably the sophisticated and charming Jack (Gregory Fitoussi).

Juliette's memories throughout the film not only to provide a contrast to her current situation but also provide a good break in the inescapable dread of being surrounded by unknown dangers.

The tension in the film is abundant and while the idea of the damsel Juliette needing to be saved borders on tongue-in-cheek, the climactic confrontation is equal parts tense and emotional.