Wilderness Survival for Girls

Three girls go for a holiday at a cabin in the woods and are disturbed by a stranger with a gun. I was expecting some second rate horror when I put this on but instead it turned out to be a surprisingly good thriller.

This isn't a horror in anyway and not at all scary though it does build some effective tension. It's more a study of the relationship between the three girls and how they react to the strange situation they find themselves in.

For me what makes this a good film is the casting. Rather than three airheads we are given three believable characters who you can actually relate too. The acting by all the girls is good but in particular Jeannette Brox as Ruth who I thought was excellent. James Morrison the only other cast member did a wonderfully understated performance as the intruder.

This is a strange film in many ways but very enjoyable and well worth a watch.

Caught this one during a one-week run at a Denver theater. Although I initially was intrigued by a movie filmed in my home state, WSFG actually was an accomplished film for reasons other than its location. Three girlfriends head up to a family cabin for a post-high-school-pre-college getaway (a tradition many of us, including myself, participated in). As the three do some hiking, sunbathing (this part may give some older viewers an uncomfortable, dirty-old-man vibe), drinking and pot-smoking, divisions between the three characters are revealed, and gradually go from subtle to tense. Things really get complicated when the stoned girls begin to hear noises outside the cabin. Just when it looks like WSFG may be the kind of McSlasher that studios churn out every other week, the story gets deeper as the mysterious stranger in the woods is revealed to be a sad-sack middle-aged guy who has been squatting in the cabin. As the night progresses, the characters' motives are revealed, and may just surprise the viewer. WSFG sets itself apart from the aforementioned generic slashers because the filmmakers understand that, if properly handled, a tense dialogue can be more jarring than a nubile teenybopper running from a maniac. In this movie, characters are developed and real, as it is revealed that each of the girls has her own issue to confront, scary man in the woods or not. Distribution for WSFG is precarious. If you happen to get the chance, however it may come, to see this little picture, fans of suspense movies likely will be taken by this stronger-than-usual offering. P.S. I have no connection to the filmmakers, BTW. - JF

"Death Game" is a somewhat similar themed film where an unsuspecting male is tormented by young females. That 1977 film, stared Sondra Locke. Here the three teenage protagonists hold a hermit hostage, vacillating on what to do with him. In their minds he could be the one responsible for a double murder in a nearby cabin several years ago, or simply a loner who had been living in the girls' rarely visited cabin. Not always logical, sometimes lurid, the outcome is never certain, which keeps things interesting for the tight running time of 78 minutes. The acting is totally acceptable, and the Colorado rockies on location photography stunning. - MERK

Three college friends, Ruth, Deb, and Kate, recently graduated, set out for a long weekend at Kate's parents' remote cabin. They intend to do nothing but sunbathe, get stoned, and dish on boys until they stumble upon the loaded shotgun and dead fox stashed in their fridge.

That's when they meet Ed (James Morrison), a disenfranchised mountain man who has been squatting in the usually vacant summer house for months.

It's a great set-up, primarily because you never really know if Ed is a psycho or if he's just a poor homeless guy who's just angry that he's been busted by a trio of teens.

It's also great because, compared to the girls, Ed seems almost well-adjusted. Ruth is a closeted lesbian with a crush on Deb, Deb is the under-achieving party girl resentful of Kate and Ruth's money and academic success, and Kate has serious man and confidence issues. Oh yeah, and there's also the fact that Deb was brutally assaulted by her stepfather years before. Then there's that almost urban legendy story of the babysitter and her boyfriend who were hacked to pieces by a deranged mountain man just miles from Kate's family's place....

You get the idea. "Wilderness Survival For Girls" is chock full of rich character development, decent acting, and plenty of twists and turns (and plot angles to work them from). It's one of those movies where you won't find yourself looking at the clock once.

Is it a nonstop suspense thrill ride, ala "High Tension" or "Them?" No. The thrills here are more psychological than anything. But it doesn't preclude them from being any less brutal and shocking.

I like to browse through Tubi for Bad movies to watch. Usually I find them but sometimes I stumble on a surprise. This movie was quite well acted for the low budget and was a surprisingly interesting thriller. I was impressed by the movie. Its no Citizen Kane but her its free and enjoyable.