It wasn't until after I watched A Lonely Place to Die that I realised that the only films of Scream Queen Melissa George's that I've seen have been her horror and thriller films - The Amityville Horror, Turistas, WAZ, 30 Days of Night, Triangle and now A Lonely Place to Die. There's not much you need to know about it before you watch it other than that it's a thriller about five people who go hiking.
First of all, I must say that the cinematography is simply wonderful. The opening scene, with its sweeping, bird's-eye view of the Scottish highlands is superb and the action, with Alison (Melissa George) and her friends Rob (Alec Newman) and Ed (Ed Speelers) rappelling up the side of a mountain draws favourable comparisons with the opening scene of Mission: Impossible II. The three head off to their cabin to meet up with couple Alex (Garry Sweeney) and Jenny (Kate Magowan). After a night of drinking and card games in their cabin, the five head off into the mountains, hiking through woods and across streams as they go. When they pause for a break, Ed heads off for a piss and hears what sounds like a distant, echoing voice. They spread out and Alison finds a pipe sticking out of the ground. From that moment on, their holiday is turned upside down.
Digging into the earth, they uncover a lid, which they pull open, revealing a small box with a little girl alone inside it. Terrified, the girl cannot speak a word of English and the group have no idea what to do. Eventually, they decide to split up. Alison and Rob, the best climbers, head off on the most direct route to the nearest village while the other three take the girl with them on the slower, safer route. Rob and Alison rappel down a cliff in a scene reminiscent of the opening scene from Wrong Turn. It's nerve-jangling and has a fantastic twist in it. Meanwhile, the others hike their way across open country. Two men in camouflage gear draw beads on them with their rifles but an excellent bait-and-switch sees them taken out by the men who are really tracking the group, led by Mr. Kidd (Sean Harris, who plays Micheletto Corellla in The Borgias). Alison changes course and heads off up the river and meets up with the others just as their pursuers find them. From the river, they sprint through the woods, still pursued, until they finally lose them. This is the hour-mark and what a fantastic hour it has been. Wonderfully shot and truly gripping. It's just a shame that the following thirty-nine minutes can't match it.
We're properly introduced to two new characters, Darko (Karel Roden) and Andy (Eamonn Walker), who are also trying to track down the girl, but for different reasons. The survivors finally make their way to the village and they go to the police station. There's a carnival on and only one old policeman on duty so they have to wait. Suspicious, they wonder if they should make a break for it. At the same time, Darko and Mr. Kidd meet each other in the village pub. It's a very strange scene and it completely lacks any resonance and feels very out of place with the fast-paced thrill-ride that the film has been up until this point. It's almost as if the film takes a break, pausing to introduce a completely divergent plot line. It serves only to make the film meander to its conclusion rather than barrel into it, full-throttle. It's a shame because when the end does come, a brutal and uncompromising one, it jars and feels tacked on, something the filmmakers would not have been hoping to achieve.
A film of two halves; the first is fantastic, right up there as one of the best thrillers of the last ten years and the second is a disappointing about-turn. The film pretty much comes to a screeching halt and we're forced to wait for the resolution while two characters we barely know and have no emotional attachment to have a chat in the pub over a pint. That aside, the film itself is gorgeous, wonderfully shot against the contrasting backdrops of the majestic Scottish highlands and a fiery night-time carnival in the streets of a little village. Melissa George is her usual excellent self, giving her character absolutely everything and throwing herself head-first (sometimes literally) into the action.
All in all, A Lonely Place to Die is a very good thriller with some exasperating faults. Don't see this as anything less than an endorsement of the film, however, because I would certainly encourage you to check it out.
7 out of 10.
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