Black Mountain Side

I found it interesting and was excited for some kind of explenation for everything that was going on, but the ending fell short...

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.

Anyone else bothered by the fact they never shut the flippin' doors behind them?

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)

I am a ten plus year super fan of John Carpenter's The Thing (1982). As such, this review and my opinion of the movie each reflect that fact. As fellow fans of The Thing know, any time you see the words isolated, paranoia, snow and horror, you get a little bit excited by the potential. This movie is one of the few that lived up to the potential of its all-time great setting. Other movies, like Thaw, Blood Glacier, The Last Winter and more fall short either from atrocious acting, poor conception, poor realization of a good pitch, poor effects or poor plotting. Sometimes they fail at every such level. Black Mountain Side did not fail. The acting is uneven, even poor at times. The dialogue feels forced and subpar at times, especially in the first thirty minutes. Certainly, however, it's not bad enough to completely destroy the movie. It gets a pass there. A narrow pass, but a pass. The real treasure of the movie is in its buildup. It doesn't resort to cheap tricks and jump scares to hold your attention early on. It takes its good time presenting the story and building the tension and suspense, and it keeps patient viewers wondering, but with enough subtle hints so as not to be a snooze fest. The premise is solid, the location is solid, the pacing is solid and the allusions to Lovecraft are solid. It hits all the marks and tropes of Lovecraftian horror marred only by subpar acting and dialogue. There are no stupid character decisions, no forced plot points and no movie-ruining political statements. It's just horror. Good, cosmic, Lovecraftian horror. So put on your acting blinders (they don't even have to be too big) and enjoy this slow-burning love letter to Lovecraft and The Thing. Unfortunately, as far as the rating goes, I can't give it a 7/10 as a whole. With stronger acting and a stronger script, it would have been a 7/10, but the acting and script weren't quite up to par as the concept and story. Still, this movie is going to get neglected because of those things when it really shouldn't be. If you're in the mood for wintery cabin/isolation horror, give this one a shot.