Wilderness (2006)

Wilderness: Directed by M.J. Bassett. With Sean Pertwee, Alex Reid, Toby Kebbell, Stephen Wight. Juvenile delinquents are sent to a small British island after a fellow prisoner’s death, where they have to fight for survival.

“Wilderness isnu0026#39;t a great modern horror film, but it does a good job of taking old ideas and rehashing them into a fresh and exciting plot line. The influences to the film are clear, with the much-copied classic u0026#39;The Most Dangerous Gameu0026#39; being fused with more modern films such as u0026#39;Battle Royaleu0026#39;. The basic plot line isnu0026#39;t too far removed from your common slasher film, but director Michael J. Bassett gives him film an extra edge by putting the focus on the struggle as the protagonists battle with the wilderness (naturally), the main threat and even each other. The plot focuses on a group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to an uninhabited island when a young lad staying in their home is found to have committed suicide. However, the island doesnu0026#39;t turn out to be uninhabited at all, as aside from a local hermit; thereu0026#39;s also a group of girls there with the same idea – and some mad psycho with a crossbow and a group of bloodthirsty German Shepherds, who is seemingly hell bent on not letting any of them off the island alive! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe director seems more bothered about atmosphere and tension than characters; as while some of the people inhabiting the film are well defined, their actions are often questionable and none of them are particularly interesting. But even so, this isnu0026#39;t a problem; as the film is constantly suspenseful and the fact that there is an unseen psycho in the woods bodes well with the atmosphere on display. Michael J. Bassett seems keen to go against the clichés of the horror genre, as there is no mystery to the killeru0026#39;s identity after the first half of the film and the crossbow weapon works well. Thereu0026#39;s a fair amount of gore on display, although the film never matches the initial death sequence in the wilderness in terms of gore. The acting isnu0026#39;t terrible, but the u0026#39;thicku0026#39; British accents sound really phoney to an actual Brit like me. Sean Pertwee is the only recognised name on the cast list, but the rest of the cast; which is made up of mostly British television stars, provide adequate performances. Overall, Wilderness is certainly a good horror film and comes recommended.”