Silent Retreat

This movie looks like and feels like a crappy porn movie. The acting is stilted and borderline offensive in it's inadequacy (the girl with the fake English accent is horrendous), the director did not seem to know what the hell he was doing, the script comes off as bad fan fiction, and the movie itself is predictable, clichéd and asinine. I mean, what were these people thinking? Did the actors really read this script and tell themselves, "I will be proud to add this to my resume?". If they did, it's no wonder I have never seen anyone act in anything else. Your poor judgment will be detrimental to your careers if you keep taking these skid-marked roles. Learn to say no when a script is garbage. Ask questions and offer insight as to how you can enhance the writer's vision. But, above all else, never work on another project ever again. I have seen porn films with better acting than this movie, and the FEW instances of blood and gore are so few and far between as to make this a XXX feature without any sex, class or creative vision. Just a freaking mess from beginning to end. I offer nothing but vomit for this travesty. May it be forgotten like the cesspool of talent it is.

Good twist, but not a horror. The scenes do not scare you as the effects do not have much blood and gore. Needs better makeup and effects. Story line is ok but needs to have better script. Who fails to tell another person if something bad has happened and settles by saying "I have to tell you something " but is happy with the response of nothing.

Hard to find too much merrit about this one, so if you have seen it, you will probably agree and if not, then there are plenty more effective examples, of the 'Young Persons in Perril' genre, you could seek out instead.

Watched this movie but was never sure how they want to pursue horror... I mean seriously? Movie builds some confidence while showing plot connections with mental hospital and the business trip people in the first few minutes but then I was just eagerly waiting for a horror pop-up when in between they just wanted to make it sensually interesting! Woah? Dude falling off the stairs dies without blood or bruises? OK then they tried covering up for that by surprise human hunt for what I'm still wondering... Not even good use of camera tricks for horrifying but then confusingly clarifying the fuss made up till the end... No boy, competition for horror is far ahead than what you thinking! Stars can be for acting, least to be said

Several team-members of a media company take a retreat in the Big Bear area of SoCal, along with the wannabe hottie's beau. A dubious caretaker lurks nearby. When people start coming up missing, the questionable history of the renovated lodge is unearthed.

"Silent Retreat" (2016) is a micro-budget Indie with the typical issues thereof, but it includes practically all of the staples required in a cabin-in-the-woods flick. Critics complain about "bad acting" and how all the characters are "unlikable," but this is not true. The script is well-written and the no-name actors strike the right tone for the material, mostly serious but some of them with a wink of hammy-ness.

There are only two disagreeable characters, the goofball who tries too hard to be amusing (because he pathetically needs attention) and the loose Jezebel. We've all met people in real-life just like these two; they're just slightly exaggerated and comical here.

Indie horror or not, the locations are excellent, the drama is consistently entertaining, and the writer/director successfully implements an unexpected twist in the final act. I also like how the lying "Jezebel" (Devon Ogden) and the crude clown (Eli Bildner) are contrasted by the petite Christian lass (Trista Robinson) and the winsome protagonist (Rebecca Summers), not to mention the noble Zac (Donny Boaz). One character rightly observes that the goofball never takes anything serious, but watch his change in demeanor in the second half.

Remember the beginning of "The Edge" (1997), which took place at a beautiful lodge in the western wilderness? Now imagine an entire movie with that setting, albeit on a modest budget featuring a different challenge and with a bit o' humor. That's this film.

Some people don't appreciate micro-budget horror flicks; I do, at least when they deliver the goods.

The movie runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot at Big Bear Lake, which is about 95 miles east of Los Angeles in the high country; other locations include Angelus Oaks, Trabuco Canyon and Anaheim.

GRADE: B-/C+