Thursday, 27 June 2013

Black Rock (2012, Dir. Katie Astleton, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***


 
Starring: Katie Astleton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth

 

Lou (Bell) and Sarah (Bosworth) decide to go on a trip to an island off of the coast, joined by Abbie (Astleton) (a friend of Sarah’s but who turned against Lou for sleeping with her boyfriend). As the three start to bond, they come across three men (Will Bouvier/Jay Paulson/Anslem Richardson) hunting on the island. That night, a violent event turns the island into an isolated hell.

 

Directed by star Kate Astleton, Black Rock has a clear influence from John Boorman’s classic thriller, Deliverance (1972) in the idea of a group of friends going to an isolated location and being set upon in a violent manner. The film deals with violence fairly well, and at least when the initial conflict sets in, it’s surprisingly bleak and nasty. The film mostly encounters trouble with how to portray the three female protagonists, who, in the preamble to the main plot, seem shallow and lacking in sympathetic personas, which does cause trouble when wanting to care about their plight. The film is, fall of its subdued elements and short running time, well executed with some fine performances and is stronger than what an audience might anticipate, but it is definitely something of an acquired taste.  

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