Range Runners

I have a soft spot in my heart for freshman or sophomore films made on a micro budget. I know the cast sometimes doubles as the crew and I know that the money invested in making the movie is nothing compared to the blood, sweat and tears of the people who made it.

With that said, it's really hard to make a thriller without knowing what thrills the audience. If the premise is that an obviously depressed women decides to run through the wilderness, the audience needs to see what is scary about the wilderness. Although we hear where they are discussed, we have no context as to where it is. Are they in a National Park or in someone's back yard? Why are the trails empty? A spot of exposition or more overhead drones of green would have helped. There's so much context lost by not knowing why the heroine should be guarded,

Second, Celeste Cooper does an admirable job of SHOWING not TELLING that she is troubled and grieving. She is restrained, intense and quiet in her pain. She understands what her character is telling us, and really doesn't need the injury trope for us to know she is troubled. She gives a hell of a performance.

So too does Michael B. Woods, the mopey eyed criminal who is over his head and knows it. His part should have been bigger, and it would have fit with the story better had he had a chance at redemption.

Last, I would like to see more movies by the people who made this one. I think they did a good job in spite of the limitations, and I think the hate here is unjustified.

Yes, I would gladly be a free script doctor for their next project. I like their enthusiasm.

Survival in the woods. Determination to live. It had the elements to be a fine movie.

Instead it kept me asking why? No reasonable person would act the way these characters acted. In order for this movie to work, you'd have to have a suspension of disbelief fueled by heavy doses of narcotics.

Such a same.

This movie had me saying "why the f would you do that" about 100 times. Bad script, horrible acting and no common sense. Nothing about this film could even be considered partially realistic. The decisions made by all parties are stupid and void of all logic. The writing is very bad.

It starts as it means to go on, badly. The acting is poor, the storyline weak and an hour in it almost telegraphs the twist. I found myself physically jolting at some of the join by dots set scenes. The main baddie delivered his lines as if he was auditioning in an echo chamber and the script, if there was one, was such that I felt compelled to fast forward chunks of the film so I could simply get to the end. I created this account just so I could warn others to avoid this film. Jim 80958's review must make him a relative of one of the actors. Either that or he is reviewing a completely different film. On a positive note the setting was outstandingly beautiful, I would love to go there.

I felt like a bush walk so I chose this movie. What followed is a series of unlikely nonsensical events based on shock and terror tactics to deliver intensity. But I feel where these movies fall short is crossing the realism line all too frequently and this compromises the whole thing, but if it didn't well there wouldn't be a movie. Many viewers i've ready from couldn't even sit through the whole thing because its just too cringey. I mean, unless I was a juvenile and or didn't know better somehow... That aside I stayed with it because the filming locations and style are really nice, it's successfully giving me my nature fix and I like the training montage cut scenes as they're pretty inspiring. Lastly, the acting I have to applaud too. Overall 6/10.