Dir. Eli B. Despres, Kim Roberts, 2004, USA, 79mins
Cast: Jeanette Brox, Megan Henning, Ali Humiston, James Morrison
Review by Paul Murphy
When a movie begins with three 17-year old girls arriving on a remote mountaintop in the Colorado Rockies alone, you know they are asking for trouble. What kind of trouble though is a different matter, and Wilderness Survival For Girls, is not, thank God, another teen slasher/horror movie a la Wrong Turn or movies of that ilk, rather as the press blurb has it a “coming of age thriller”.
With high school a not-too distant memory Ruth (Jeanette Brox), a very naïve and compulsively nice Yale bound nerd brings best friend, smart misfit Deborah (Megan Henning) and not-so-best-friend street smart rebellious Kate (Ali Humiston) up to her parents isolated summer cabin for a bit of R&R before the onslaught of college life and living begins. The girls settle into their holiday with the usual dynamics of any friendship, Kate aggressively taking charge the alpha female, Ruth subserviently complying and keeping quiet, and Debs, somewhere in between, privy to each of the other two’s gripes with each other, sitting on the fence passing judgement on all.
Finding a dead fox in the freezer, a shotgun that doesn’t belong in a liberal anti-gun holiday home, a spot of possible spied upon sunbathing, and some after dinner spliffs, the inevitability of the locale and the genre take control as the story is told of Ruth’s ex-babysitter who, along with her friend, were raped and murdered four miles away from their very cabin a decade earlier. Hillbilly rednecks abound in places like this a la Deliverance, and the girls joke about such Billy Bobs, but being stoned and alone magnify every house creak and forest noise to threatening paranoia.
When a flashlight roams through the window, the girls freak out, someone is out there, and they’re coming in. The door opens and a strange mountain man (James Morrison) looms large in the doorway, moving towards Ruth who is frozen on the spot, like a deer caught in the headlights. Just as the man threatens to get closer, Kate and Debs appear, aiming the shotgun at him. They tie the intruder, who has been living in the unoccupied cabin, to a chair and decide to hold him hostage until the morning, since their mobiles are out of range and their vehicle mysteriously refuses to start.
Thusly we enter into a hostage situation which, the longer it continues, the more fraught it gets, as the girl’s stoned-ness, fears and rivalries get the better of them as Debs and Kate begin to disclose exactly what they think about each other in a very ill advised spot of therapeutic timing.
As Debs storms out, after a bitter row, Kate follows her leaving confused Ruth to watch over their prisoner and the roles of captive and captor change as mountain man Ed takes advantage of Ruth’s naiveté, slowly coaxing her to release him. When the girls return after teenage awkwardness in a neighbouring cabin the reality of what started off as a relaxing break turns into a possible case of judge, jury and executioner.
Whilst watching the film I was reminded of Roman Polanski’s gripping Death and the Maiden, in its captive scenario, and it’s cat and mouse game of truth, deception, power, humiliation and deceit. Wilderness, attempts to reach such Polanskian heights and at some moments manages to do just that, it builds up tension just to be let down by very poor images. Admirably shot in eighteen days by husband and wife team Eli B. Despres and Kim Roberts, with a crew of just ten, on DVCam, this low budget feature cannot let it’s mode of production get I the way of it’s storytelling, which unfortunately it does. Whilst the exterior shots of the brooding, epic mountains awash in the red glow of dusk and dawn light are cinematic and moody, this isn’t matched by the indoor lighting, which is functional at best. Bad framing, cutting back to the same shot endlessly, and very very dark scenes outside, cause irritation and does not help move the story along, giving us a we’ve seen this all before feeling. A more developed visual sense of character claustrophobia contrasted with geographical isolation would have made this film richer. To this reviewer it felt like a very good play poorly committed to celluloid.
Also I felt the film could have taken a little longer to play, in that the last act felt very rushed with no real time for the characters to truly grasp the magnitude of what they are getting themselves into, and so not allowing us time to put ourselves in their place.
On the other hand the acting is near faultless, with potential stereotypes, really given flesh by very talented young leads who admirably carry the story and it’s ensuing emotions, a fact conferred on Outstanding Performer award-winner Jeanette Brox who “evolves from doormat to decisive leader” in the opinion of this years IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival jury. Also praise must go James Morrison, who gives a magnificent performance and it’s a mystery why he hasn’t been seen on cinema screens before this.
Wilderness Survival For Girls then is well worth a look for it’s exceptional performances, very subtle, nuanced moments, (Ruth trying to go for a pee whilst keep an eye on her prisoner is superb) and very original and intelligent take on a very hackneyed genre. Alas the cinematography does limit it to the world of film festivals and low budget productions, but for a first feature this film is a great showcase for a handful of very promising talent.
Also points to the anti-Deliverance ending, a humorous critique on the fickleness of today’s teenagers.
