Black Mountain Side

Movie starts out with beautiful cinematography, believable dialogue, believable characters, and the kind of pacing I prefer in a 'psychological horror' film. I watch enough movies to recognize a smaller budget film, so I usually prepare for the worst when I see the markers for an indie flick, but early on, the unfamiliar actors and lack of orchestral soundtrack did not bother me. In fact, I liked the absence of music. Helped set a cold, uninviting mood.

Then about halfway through, when the big events start unfolding, the acting doesn't keep pace with the drama and frankly, distracts from a few of the scenes. Also, I'll be careful not to spoil anything, but on the big reveal, I really hoped for something different. Thought the choice they made there really hurt the mood they'd built so effectively. Went from 8 stars to 7 stars because I just couldn't take that part seriously.

To summarize, I liked the premise, (though this isn't the first time I've seen it...it's one of my favorite premises for a horror film), and I liked the general dialogue, the action, and resolution. I have a feeling they didn't have a huge budget, but they made a very solid, often bizarre, and at times creepy, horror film. Would really like to see what the writer/director/cinematographer could do with a bigger budget and more experienced cast.

Also, bravo to the filmmakers for not writing a bunch of fake reviews here. Seems a common trick lately, so thank you for letting the film stand on its own!

Having lived in the north and through -50 nights, I am trying very hard to ignore the fact that none of these actors would have made it through day 1 if it was really cold out. No gloves, doors hanging open while they chat, running about with their jackets unzipped, no hats. Somehow the reality that they are all running about in about -5c early spring with water dripping from the eves just spoils the effect for me. Ironically it didn't need to be the dead of winter to be good ... so why????

On the positive side, I thought that director Nick Szostakiwskyj made very good use of the Canadian northern wilderness as a setting. It was bleak and snowbound and foreboding. It leant the proper atmosphere to the movie - there was a tension to this almost from the very beginning. The story revolves around a team of archaeologists who discover an unusual structure of some sort buried underground and under the snow. It's mysterious. It's very old and there are items discovered that don't belong anywhere near this area. And after the discovery, strange things begin to happen, starting with the pet cat of one of the team being discovered killed. Then the rest of the movie shows a slow descent into what appears to be madness and violence among the team.

The atmosphere was effective; the story - to me - less so. The basic question once the madness began was whether this was a form of cabin fever - madness caused by the isolation the team was facing - or whether there was a supernatural element involved in all of this; something to do with this strange structure that the team uncovered. I'd lean toward the latter, but it wasn't entirely clear and the possibility of mass hysteria was certainly present.

The story is set over a period of about six weeks. i will confess that at times the story seemed to bog down and drag a little bit, so that the six weeks started to feel a bit literal at some points. But overall the movie was mildly interesting and the performances from the cast were decent enough, although I'm not sure I'd give this many marks for originality. It was - at best - OK. Nothing special, but not bad. (5/10)

This independent, low budget Canadian horror film is the sort of movie that critics will appreciate, but general audiences will likely find it strange and slow. The storytelling isn't very good. It reminded me of a person telling someone about their weird dream. It jumps around sporadically, it leaves out details, it raises questions without answering them, and while it has moments that are interesting, it ends abruptly before completely telling the whole story. It's definitely a slow burner. It's a creepy movie, but it's hard to call it scary. The archeological element is interesting but not explored satisfactorily. While many critics will admire this movie as a piece of art, it's a bit of a mess in terms of storytelling. If watching some guys smoking a lot of cigarettes while mentally breaking down sounds interesting to you, give this movie a shot. Otherwise, the creepiness of what's uncovered in the ice isn't interesting or frightening enough to thrill most viewers.

Pleasantly surprised by this movie. Came into it with hoping of a decent movie set in a paranoid lonely environment, perhaps not completely different the 80s movie "Thing" with Curt Russel.

Quite soon i discovered that there are some small similarities between the movies but it was not a ripoff but had its own thing going which i find worked well. Actors does a decent job, Not top notch quality but overall i cant complain. I did found the group a bit too big though and sometimes i mistook the characters for one another which was annoying but you came back on rail realizing who and what was going on fast after confusion hit you. Its not a perfect movie but i found the mood and vibe of the whole thing very unsettling which of course is a great quality in a horror movie. Being a HP Lovecraft fan it satisfied me taking a bit of that mythology into it all but with that being said, you do not need any Lovecraft interest or knowledge to understand the movie. Its just extra candy for those that are.

Not going to spoil anything but i wish the movie would have expanded and gotten more info on the artifact, When the movie ends there is still some questions you want to have answered but in some ways it also probably makes the movie good in a way. Instead of having answers served it tickles the imagination a bit.

The movie had its chilling moments and as i said a very pleasant surprise among all crap you find in the genre and i very much recommend a viewing, Might not connect well with all horror fans in a great way but if you got a thing for the Cthulhu mythos and Lovecraftian literature this is a must see.

I will re watch this movie in a few months to see how a second look makes me feel but yes...recommended. I suspect budget was not huge in this movie but they have solved it well with the limitations they might have had. I give it a 7 in score and if you're on the hunt for a nice horroflick but cant decide...put this one on!