Stars: Stephanie Chapman-Baker, Sam Cohan, Valene Kane
Writers: Cosimo Alemà, Daniele Persica
Cast: Stephanie Chapman-Baker
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Lara
Sam Cohan
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Alex
Valene Kane
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Monica
Neil Linpow
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Riko
Lutz Michael
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Uncle
Andrew Harwood Mills
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Chino
Monika Mirga
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Diana
Michael Schermi
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Raw
Tom Stanley
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Thomas
Daniel Vivian
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Vinnie
Opening Weekend: €34,000
(Italy)
(22 July 2011)
(70 Screens)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
Solid Thriller
Rating: 8/10
The plot centers around two estranged sisters, Lara and Monica, who
along with some friends go out to the countryside to play airsoft. They
stumble across the hideout of three ex soldiers who have been using the
area as their own hunting ground. The soldiers then decide to pick them
off, one at a time. So I got this flick on mail order mainly because
it's about some guys playing airsoft, which is a real hobby of mine and
because Im a big fan of the stalker slasher genre. I was hoping to see
some cool battle scenes and these kids pitting their skills against
some hardened soldiers and some good old fashioned slashing. The
airsoft scene at the start is pretty cool, and the director did a great
job catching the frenetic pace of the game. It was good to see that the
actors that were meant to have been really good at the game were well
versed in the proper techniques and gave their characters a sense of
authenticity. The film is more than just a slasher though. In fact I
was surprised to find that it was a bit smarter than that, and two of
the deaths apart, it isn't actually very gory at all. What it is very
good at though is creating a level of tension and unease early on and
wracking it up as the film continues. The mood of the film is very
haunting, which is achieved through the stunning visuals and the
beautiful soundtrack. It's very clever how as the film uses the soft,
delicate music is in such stark contrast to the violence on screen. The
hand-held style in which the film is shot pulls you into the story and
makes it feel very believable. This is obviously also helped by some
very strong performances from the largely unknown cast. Stephanie
Chapman Baker and Neil Linpow are especially good as the two main
characters and it's their slow burning romance set against the horrors
around them that gives the film some real heart. The soldiers all look
the part, and do a fantastic job with their limited dialogue. It is in
fact Michael Lutz who gives the stand out performance as Uncle, the
leader of the three. His face is so worn and tells us everything in a
look. I am a little disappointed that the back stories of the soldiers
were not explored, as I think that it would have added an extra
dimension to the film had we known more about who these guys were and
how they had become so bitter and twisted. That is one of the main
problems with the film. The script is at times a bit clunky, and the
story doesn't really take us in any new directions, in fact it's pretty
generic. It would have been nice to see some twists and turns. There is
one shock early on when the first character is killed, but after that
it just seems to follow a well beaten path up to it's conclusion. That
said, it does this well, and keeps you entertained and pretty taut
throughout. I think that Cosimo Alema on the back of this will go on to
make better films, but this is a really solid debut.
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