Excellent film with some in-depth characterisation of the two male lead characters (pretty much the only 2 characters of the entire film), their sensibilities, their vulnerabilities, their confrontation and ultimately their acceptance of each other, as they go through the most turbulent time of their long-lost friendship when their car breaks down and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Excellent story and script, and two very believable characters. Recommended to everyone who like dark, powerful, gritty, psychological nail-biters.
* * * ½
My cousins recommended this Brit thriller-bordering-on-horror highly so I had to watch it. I thought the premise was a bit silly, and the reason for the whole setup went a bit overboard. Like some of the characters repeatedly say "It was just a prank", and that prank wasn't a big crime in itself. Seemed like the wronged character had too much of an obsession over the female in question, or was in mortal dread of his revenge-seeking enlisted brother, for being the wuss of the family. There's no third explanation of what he did to himself, except the eye-rolling twist which is highlighted below.
As usual, a bunch of annoying characters get together at one place where they have to answer for a prank gone wrong (shades of
I Know What You Did Last Summer). The twist at the end is pretentious and bordering on absolute rubbish - why would a character with a solid crush on a female turn out to be gay? Why seek revenge in the name of family honor? Why is the trained soldier, who is out on cold-blooded, teeth-grinding, calculated revenge, really sloppy when handling ordinary half-minded teenagers? In the end, the bitchy female turns the tables and gets away scot-free for her actions?
Just too many plot-holes and hard-to-swallow facts which make this film not too entertaining either. Add to that, some of the most shoddy acting you will ever get to see, except for the guy who plays the soldier-brother. The second actress is pretty hot and provides some good eye-candy, and that's it. There's some decent amount of gore and blood, and a few impressive shots, but ultimately it isn't enough to save the film.
Guess it is tailor-made for today's generation kids who want a few quick adrenaline rushes to go with their Pepsis and popcorn. Ultimately it's an old wine served in a stale bottle. Best avoided.
* *