Viagem do Medo

Workably well-made, but unremarkable pot-boiler remake of the 1970 British version. This time it takes place in Argentina with two American girls on a cycling trip, compared with the original having two British girls cycling in the French countryside. One of the girls goes missing, leaving the other friend on a desperate search to find her. The simplistic narrative is routine as can be, dealing with alienation and paranoia of being a fish-out-of-water. Still rather under-written. While it might start off lousy and not surprise with its lack of twists (as the mystery does eventually loose some steam), it remains effectively sustainable in making you uncomfortable in its foreign surroundings… where it's hard to know just who to trust, as no one wants to get involved even though the suspicions are there that the locals (you know those long stares) might just know what is going on. Desperation and danger fills every inch of space as details become clear for the protagonists. The direction is intrusively slick and pacing slow-going, but this only adds to the unsettling atmosphere and breath-taking mountainous scenery. Other than Amber Heard's commendable performance, the scenic photography also is a true scene stealer. The lush sights are a marvel and only compliment the underlining threat of this idyllically forlorn retreat. After such a sturdy progression and falling into contrived developments, it breaks away in the final acts with some intense cat and mouse moments but never fully tapping in to the suspense of the predicament. The cast give well rounded performances, even though their thin characters are descriptively black and white. Heard is impressive in the lead role, while Odette Annable provides plenty of energy. A disconnected Karl Urban shows up as a mysterious stranger (though foreseeable to where his character's ends up in the plot) and Cesar Vianco (with that icy stare) plays the town's officer. Underdone, but modest travel thriller.

"He looks… responsible."

Good things first, some very nice cinematography of the landscapes. Cool looking deserted town that looks like something from a nuclear holocaust. Now that's out of the the way, on to the bad...

Clichéd characters. The Ellie character is just plain annoying and whilst I'm not a prude her behaviour just invited trouble - she's in an unknown country surrounded by strangers and acts like a complete whore. The good guy character hints at some promise but is taken out of the equation too easily. No inventiveness applied here, nothing you haven't seen a million times. Plus the female leads look like famine victims, especially Ellie - neither of them would have had the strength to fight off any kind of attack. I don't know if this is what Hollywood considers sexy nowadays but if so you can keep it.

Only rent if there is absolutely nothing else.

Two young American women (Amber Heard and Odette Yustman) are biking around Argentina. It is a fun adventure, at least until one of them gets kidnapped. Can the other track down the kidnapper and save her friend? Who can she trust?

This film is a remake of a 1970 British thriller. For all intents and purposes, the connection could be overlooked and the film would be just fine. While some things were kept the same -- the bicycling, lack of subtitles and a shot of a plane overhead -- much of it was changed. The setting has moved from France to Argentina, the girls' names were changed, and there is a whole new dynamic. This film could have stood on its own.

Writer-director Marcos Efron truly does make it his own film, and it helps to have two of today's finest young stars in the lead roles. Amber Heard, at the time of this film's release, was already known and about to be more well-known alongside Johnny Depp and Nic Cage. Odette Yustman, perhaps less well-known, is still a star in her own right.

The film is tense, suspenseful, better-paced than the original, with beautiful color and scenery. There is a sexy element, but no outright sex. There is a violent element, but no outright gore. The film is R, but could get by with what I would call a "hard PG-13". Even the torture aspects never enter into the "torture porn" realm of "Saw" or "Hostel", or even "Turistas", and I give this film credit for that, staying firmly in "thriller" rather than "horror" territory.

While I would not give it a must-see, mandatory recommendation, it is a great thriller and one of the better films I have seen in a while. I never get sick of seeing Heard or Yustman, especially when they are in their swimsuits. This film earns a B, maybe a B-plus. The Anchor Bay DVD is also loaded with special features.

Pretty much every horror title these days is getting a low score almost on every critic sites , To me it is very sad because most of us don't even read the critic review ,we just watch the score the movie got and decide whether to watch it or not. I think this movie is one of those movies that no one really got to see because it has low score . If you look closely it has pretty nice cast in it , Yes Amber Heard and Odette Annable are beautiful actresses but hey also got nice acting skills . The plot is pretty unique , i mean i personally haven't seen movie with this story before and i found this story interesting. This movie has clichés in it but still it is very fun to watch and it doesn't get boring all along... I think its underrated and i would recommend it to every one since its mostly Mystery title , i wouldn't call it a solid horror.

And Soon the Darkness is a serviceable "vacation gone bad" thriller. The two lead actresses are VERY pleasant to look at. They bike and sunbathe and run very prettily. But the story is so predictable that it's almost comical, the bad guys and plot twists are apparent from the very beginning, and the protagonists make decisions so stupid that they almost seem to ask for the situation that they get involved in.

You should be very familiar with this kind of plot by now. A pair of attractive young American tourists (Odette Yustman and Amber Heard) get separated from their bike tour group in Argentina, meet some suspicious people, get separated from each other, and then one of them goes missing. They're not the smartest of tourists, that's for sure. 

Even if you can stand the by-the-numbers plot (for Odette Yustman, I can accept a LOT of clichés and obvious plot twists), And Soon the Darkness isn't a very thrilling thriller. There's not a lot of creativity or imagination to it, it's just the same movie we've seen before with some new faces. Watch it if you're a fan of Yustman or Heard, but don't expect a lot.