Jericho Ridge

Jericho Ridge is another rip-off of John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 (from 1976). It's not the first time they used that story to make a movie and this one is certainly not the worst. I thought it was entertaining the whole time. It's just a more modern version of Assault On Precinct 13. Nikki Amuka-Bird plays the main character and she was very believable in her performance. The acting from the small cast wasn't bad at all. Constant action makes it worth watching. Maybe not always the best decisions were made during the assault but you could blame the stress that comes with it. In short, I've seen worse movies in this genre.

Well that is actually only one police member who walks "funny" - limping for reasons as you will find out! No pun intended - stuff happens and that also in one of those things that ... well happened and helps elevate and further down the suspense we will have watching this.

This obviously is larger than life, yet there is at least some degree of reality that you can find here. A movie and a thriller, but it does tend to its characters and the script is well written (or tight if you prefer that term). We have mostly a one location setup - and while we are there .. a lot of things are going to happen. Some violence and also explicit one - so just be aware of that, if that bothers you or not ... really well done, cinematography, sound design, acting, script ... well I could list many things I suppose ... John Carpenter would be proud ...

This film is editor and writer Will Gilbey's first full-length feature film directorial debut, and he did not disappoint. The film isn't perfect by any means, but considering the filmmaker is not a seasoned pro, there's some forgiveness allowed for typical newb filmmaker rookie mistakes. There weren't many mistakes, and aside from some plot and technical issues, everything else was pretty much on point. The comfortable 87 min runtime flew by with decent pacing, and a story that had a great flow to it, as well as constant tension and suspense. There were some decent twists thrown in for good measure. The casting and performances were good, and the cinematography and score spot on, especially for a B-film. It's actually one of the better B-films I've seen in a while. It's a great one-time watch I'm sure everyone will enjoy, especially with all the big budget Hollywood blockbusters that have come out recently and have disappointed. It's a well deserved 7/10 from me.

Another variant of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, except that some fifty years after the original this looks and feels cheaper than ever and makes the Carpenter film look like a big budget epic by comparison. Here, the cast is whittled down to just half a dozen characters, the villains are little seen, and a lot rides on the strength of the leading character. Thankfully, Amuka-Bird is up to the task of creating a sympathetic lead, glossing over some of the character cliches to deliver a character which is both resilient and sympathetic. The action is less well handled and it's all a little too dark and too slick, but it's watchable enough for a B-thriller.

As everyone else says in their reviews, this film owes a big debt to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13. Well, if you're going to borrow, borrow from the best. So, no, this doesn't score many points for originality, but this taut, stripped down actioner is a thoroughly entertaining film in its own right.

Nikki Amuka-Bird is superb in the main role - as she always is - and lends great depth to the police officer character she plays. All the way through, you feel her fear and tension as the situation spirals out of control, and are fully with her as she fights to survive against the odds.

The action scenes are very well done, and there are enough twists and turns to keep things moving along nicely. Most of the other characters are fairly thinly drawn, but this doesn't really matter, and at around 90 minutes there is no excess flab.

I don't think this set the world on fire when it first came out, but it's a hidden gem of a movie that deserves to be more widely seen. Much better than most bloated blockbusters that cost ten times as much!