THE STORY:
Best friends Becky and Susan, played by Gemma-Leah Devereux and Rebecca Night, go on a hiking holiday only to be drawn in and seduced by handsome stranger, Chris (Callum Blue). As echoes of a long-forgotten past plague Becky’s mind, their new male companion may have his own agenda that threatens to spoil their girly getaway.
It’s cool to witness Dartmoor for the beautiful landscape that it actually is, as opposed to the deadly, fog-filled terrain portrayed in Hammer Horror’s 1959 adaption of The Hound of the Baskervilles. So beautiful, in fact, that the film’s scares, though few in number, fail miserably. The contrasting atmosphere allows director Nicholson the perfect setup to try for the unpredictable, only to result in a handful of laughable and wasted opportunities. It’s a trick that has been infamously achieved in some of horror’s best twist endings, with scenes such as Jason in the lake, Carrie’s hand from the grave and even Freddy pulling Nancy’s mother through the front door. If they can do it…
There’s no surprise that TV documentarian Nicholson will have a keen eye for the perfect wide shot, but the editing that comes into play when Becky’s flashbacks act up begs the question if he has ever actually seen… any other style of movie… ever… As well-filmed and picturesque as Dartmoor has turned out, it gleams at you with the horribly misguided assumption of someone who thinks they know what they’re doing, when they really don’t have a fucking clue.
LAST WORDS:
The actors do well enough with what they are given, but sadly Dartmoor is neither interesting nor efficient enough to be worth your time. But if you want to see Callum Blue get his arse out, yet again, that’s your prerogative. There are two lessons to be learned here. Readers: stick with films made by film-makers. And documentarians: stick with what you know.
Best friends Becky and Susan, played by Gemma-Leah Devereux and Rebecca Night, go on a hiking holiday only to be drawn in and seduced by handsome stranger, Chris (Callum Blue). As echoes of a long-forgotten past plague Becky’s mind, their new male companion may have his own agenda that threatens to spoil their girly getaway.
It’s cool to witness Dartmoor for the beautiful landscape that it actually is, as opposed to the deadly, fog-filled terrain portrayed in Hammer Horror’s 1959 adaption of The Hound of the Baskervilles. So beautiful, in fact, that the film’s scares, though few in number, fail miserably. The contrasting atmosphere allows director Nicholson the perfect setup to try for the unpredictable, only to result in a handful of laughable and wasted opportunities. It’s a trick that has been infamously achieved in some of horror’s best twist endings, with scenes such as Jason in the lake, Carrie’s hand from the grave and even Freddy pulling Nancy’s mother through the front door. If they can do it…
There’s no surprise that TV documentarian Nicholson will have a keen eye for the perfect wide shot, but the editing that comes into play when Becky’s flashbacks act up begs the question if he has ever actually seen… any other style of movie… ever… As well-filmed and picturesque as Dartmoor has turned out, it gleams at you with the horribly misguided assumption of someone who thinks they know what they’re doing, when they really don’t have a fucking clue.
LAST WORDS:
The actors do well enough with what they are given, but sadly Dartmoor is neither interesting nor efficient enough to be worth your time. But if you want to see Callum Blue get his arse out, yet again, that’s your prerogative. There are two lessons to be learned here. Readers: stick with films made by film-makers. And documentarians: stick with what you know.
RSS Feed
