Film: Hillwalkers

The late-night film fest continues - tonight, it was a horror film: Hillwalkers. I'd never heard of it, but I'll always give a horror film a shot - and it didn't clash with anything else.

It's Irish, as it turns out - a group of obvious city slickers go hillwalking, in the fog, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere called "Glenkill", for goodness' sake. Ugh, too obvious. The prologue shows someone in evening dress (?!) trying to escape, across the moor, from someone wearing a mask and carrying a gun, clearly intending no good. When the story proper starts, we see our protagonists leave their car and head off across what looks like the same moor. Soon, one of them has an accident and they have to look for help - unfortunately, the constant rain has rendered their return route too boggy, and the alternative route they find turns out to be through a forest on private property. With barbed wire, and signs with animal skulls attached, warning that "Trespassers will be.." (bottom line obscured by high grass). Naturally, they figure this emergency trumps the signs, and in they go. Which turns out to be a Very Bad Idea.

Zero plot, really - apart from a laudable nod to woman-power, as the women save the day, yet again. Acting is good, story is reasonably tense - but gee, I needed more of a story. And just dropping into the story, near the end, that someone has experience in hunting - I won't give away who - seems like a cheap excuse for a quick exit. It feels as though this was a half-baked idea that they just didn't take the time to flesh out. And speaking of acting - I do have one quibble; that psycho among the bad guys was quite OTT. In fact, this feels as though they were trying to copy other films they'd seen, and doing a much worse job of it.

Having said this, it's an enjoyable enough way to pass a couple of hours - just keep your expectations low.

As for the cinema - I had my eye on two films opening on Wednesday, and am delighted to say they both have matinee performances! although not in my first two preference cinemas - I have to see both in the Odeon Limerick. Not a problem, I'm well familiar with it, and it's delightfully cheap. 

One, of course, is the new version of Nosferatu - now, this hadn't yet been rated on IMDB when I last looked, but I'm delighted to say it now has, and its rating is terrific! An unofficial respin of Dracula, the original film was highly atmospheric - and at the time of writing, the new one is rated slightly higher. Stars Lily-Rose Depp - yes, Johnny's daughter! And I'm so glad it's highly rated, because I'm dying to see it.. so, that's the plan for Wednesday.

Which leaves We Live in Time for Thursday, a decade-spanning romance between Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. I saw him interviewed about it on Graham Norton, so feel mildly obliged to see it - and anyway, I don't have much else to do!

And that'll be it for outings until after I fly back to the Big Smoke next Sunday..