Solo

Young girl has a past trauma to deal with, so she applies to be a camp counsellor. Nice. But to pass the entry exam for being said counsellor she has to spend two nights alone on a remote island, thus proving her metal. Amazingly she's not as alone as is meant to be...

OK! The premise is weak, both in terms of logic and redundancy of formula, but that isn't a problem for those after a good compact scare picture to pass the time of day with. The trouble with Alone (AKA: Solo) is that it's just too dull for its own good, resorting to telegraphed boo-jumps at time scripted junctures. After a while you kind of find yourself wishing it had something more to offer on a psychological basis. The reveal of the threat is tedious, the execution of the last quarter equally so, but the performance of young Annie Clark in the lead and some efficient chill moments makes this just about passable as a time waster. 5/10

The name of this movie is SOLO. I expected, as the title so boldly suggests, to watch a film that focused on its lone female star being put in some sort of isolation scenario, at least for a good portion of the movie. One of her friends helps get her a gig at a camp. But before she can ultimately get the gig, she has to spend 2 nights alone at the camp's locally owned small island that seems to be only a mile from the main camp. So here comes the isolation, right? Not really. I won't give too much away, but let's just say that the supposed isolation seemed to be nothing more than an after thought.

SOLO does have high production value. The filming, acting and location are all really good. However, the story is a bit weak. While I don't feel that it is as cliché as other reviews would lead you to believe, it does feel like you've seen it before in a few other movies. Had the killer been scary, instead of pretty lame, then maybe this could have been worthy of a higher rating. Not terrible. Not great. Somewhere in the middle is my opinion. Worth at least one viewing if you have some time to kill and nothing else peaks your interest.

Let's face it, there are many terrible movies 'out there'. I have noticed over the last few years that one thing the contemporary terrible movies have in common is really poor production, in particular camera work. Oh, yes, the acting is bad, the stories are frequently undeveloped, the thrill is...gone, or maybe more like it was never there for the films I am referring to HOWEVER Solo is in a different class. I think the filming is very, very good! Other than Ms. Clark the acting doesn't even make it to average-bad, the plot is a poorly developed cliché, the casting clearly found some of the worst actors active and the ending is a relief but the camera work is great. It could well be worth one's time to invest 15 to 20 minutes, skip around from scene to scene, and take in the work of Stephen Chung. I hope he hooks up with a better film next time.

The film starts out with a one sided view of a visit to the psychiatrist's office. This is just one of the subtle, yet tightly integrated elements of the plot and the highly focused character study of Guilian that will keep you thinking for the first 50 minutes of the film.

We know it's going to be a stalker in the woods film from the start. Consider the genre for a moment. Over the top gore. Hockey Masks and decapitations. Chainsaws and villains wearing other people's skin. These are plot devices right out of the same fantasy world as light sabers and gremlins. Even the rabid man-eating animal, usually a bear, fallen out of favor recently with the exception of Wolf, is pretty contrived. But here is a film that simply presents you with off-balanced characters, and others that we can detect have something creepy lurking below their surface, without contriving anything too obvious to make it seem in forced and cliche.

Annie Clark's performance is top rate. She makes believable the kind of hide-in-your-sleeping bag naiveté of someone afraid of animal sounds in the night with the savvy of a teenage girls who knows better than to tell someone she is all alone in the woods for two days. Her character arc follows the path of Ripley and Sarah Conner, yet it doesn't seem forced. We hope her future projects track more in the direction of Ms. Weaver than Ms. Hamilton. This is not "The Glass House", where the highlight of the characters performance is her bikini scene. We love the genuine beauty of the woods and the green eyed gaze of Ms. Clark as she looks for a way forward from a personal tragedy of her past.

In the last 20 minutes of the film, there are a few tropes to be reckoned with. The engine that won't start. The rescuer knocked out from behind. But even so, this is no "Blair Witch Project" where chicanery with the camera work demand attention that is drawn away from the lack of plot, nor is it a big budget affair with or over the top set pieces designed to distract from deficient writing.

The film is great at getting and holding scenes of tension. That is what a suspense film should do first, and it that regard I highly recommend Solo. Watch it alone, a few days before your (or your child's) next camping trip (I don't mean trip to an RV campsite, I mean real camping in the public game preserve or even your large suburban back yard) and I guarantee you'll have trouble going to sleep.

This movie is exactly what you expect- a young girl alone on an island and creepy things happen as she has to survive for a few days to prove that she has what it takes to be a camp counselor. But, saying that, it is not a bad effort. I have seen hundreds of thriller/horror movies in my time and this is not as bad as others would tell you. Yes, some of it has been recycled and yes, there isn't much new or original here but there was something about the lead character, Gillian that I liked and I was appalled at some people commenting on her body size. What does that have to do with anything? It is a decent effort. It won't scare the life out of you, but there are some good twists and turns that you might be able to see coming. I am not going to give anything away, but I would give it a chance.It is worth a look.

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