High Lane (2009)

one of my absolute favorites!

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Crappy film

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A Group of friends decide to do some weekend rock climbing, to bond together through one of the friends having a traumatic experience, as her work as a nurse. What starts off as a lot of fun, turns into a nightmare when they encounter some problems, leaving them stranded on the mountain with nowhere to go. To add insult to injury, they are being stalked by a Mountain man, who doesn't like the fact that they are in his territory. Let the hunt begin! First off, the first half of this film is absolutely incredible! The cinematography is absolutely astounding and will draw you into it from the start. The rock climbing scenes left my hands sweating, which is something that happens to me, as I have a fear of heights. So for a film to do this to me, shows how sensational the camera angles were in this very memorable experience. There were some genuinely spine tingling moments of suspense, which I can liken to the movie "Cliffhanger". You really are on the edge of your seat for a good 40 to 50 minutes. Unfortunately, when the slasher element kicks in, the movie becomes a major disappointment. The villain was not very memorable and the kills lacked creativity. The annoying characters didn't add any added incentive to feel sorry for their situation, so when the emotional scenes take place, there is just no sense of loss. As the movie ends, you will be left scratching your head, wondering how the director made a meal of what should have been a classic. Thankfully the first half of the film makes it worth the effort to have at least one viewing.

Vertige - High Land - CATCH IT (B) French movie about six friends trapped on the Zip line is frightening & thrilling. Towards the end it may start to feel like a part of Wrong Turn but still it's worth a shot. Last year's Melisa George's British movie "A Lonely Place to Die" seems took some inspiration from here though nonetheless her movie was great as it covered the horrific subject matter of rich children's kidnapping & captivity for ransom. Anyways, the performances by young cast Nicolas Giraud, Fanny Valette, Johan Libéreau, Maud Wyler and Raphaël Lenglet are admirable, as the tension between the characters keeps you on edge. I had fun time watching it.

I have recently become bored with Modern Warfare 3 so instead of playing last night I went through my Netflix library and stumbled upon High Lane, a french horror film released in 2009. The plot is pretty basic, 5 friends decide to do some climbing in the mountains of Croatia but the pass that they planned on using was closed for renovations. Being idiotic 20 somethings they decide to go ahead anyways and that would end up being a poor decision. Equipment failures, bear traps, and a half-ass love triangle make the trip far from enjoyable but that is not it, it seems there is another thing to fear besides the elements and faulty gear, a deranged killer.The film is dubbed which is a no-no for me, I would much rather read the dialogue than watch the characters mouths move out of sync from actual words, but I digress. The 5 friends are Chloe (Fanny Vallete), Loic (Johan Libereau), Guillaume (Raphael Langlet), Fred (Nicolas Giraud), and Karine (Muade Wyler). Chloe and Loic are a couple, Fred and Karine are a couple and poor Guillaume is the 5th wheel except that Guillaume has had improper relations with Chloe and desperately wants her to leave Loic for him, sadly that is one of the many thin sub-plots.Let me start out with some positives about the film before I go into the negatives. First off the location this movie was shot at was absolutely breathtaking and several of the camera shots early in the film were overwhelming in its natural beauty. Secondly, if you have a fear of heights this film will make your stomach jump into your throat as you reach for solid ground below your couch. Thirdly, Fanny Vallete, who plays Chloe, exudes sexuality and beauty in a role that calls for none. Lastly, there are certainly a few scenes that will make you uneasy.The negatives are striking and obvious and lie at the root of the film. First off who vacations or does anything with 2 couples and 5th wheel, nevermind there is obviously some tension between Loic and Guillaume. Secondly, who goes for a climb like this when they have vertigo and are scared of heights such as Loic. At this point I could not take the movie seriously, it was just unrealistic and foolish. So if you are going to make a movie that is unrealistic and foolish then PLEASE do not take yourself so seriously and this film tried to be a serious thriller when it would have made a better B-type movie. Add nudity, sex, and over the top violence and I believe this film could have been better or at least more interesting.All in all the film was on the thin side and the scare factor was not strong enough to overcome the weakness in script. The actors did an alright job but had very little to work with and cannot be blamed for the failure of this film in my opinion. This film had no identity and it desperately needed one, it also needed some solid sub-plots to pass the time between interesting scenes.Like what you see here? Then check out our full site at 3guys1movie.com

What is it with France lately. Really, they are making flicks I really like. I remember a time when they only made blah blah movies. If you have seen The Descent then this one is one you are going to like, only they don't descent but they climb. A bunch of friends are out for a hike and by doing that they would like to climb some mountains. But they are unlucky. The pass to the mountains is closed but hey, it's a horror so they ignore it and start climbing. The shots made while climbing are fabulous. If you have fear of heights than you will have it in some shots. But of course something goes wrong. They are making too many risks and happen to become isolated on a rock. And from there on the f lick really starts. I can only tell you that it's going to rock (what's in a name) hard and typical for a french movie there is no happy ending. The blood flows frequently and sometimes even gory. The movie also is here and there really brutal. I just can understand why nobody is talking about this flick. It's just great, the only thing I don't get is the flashes our main actress gets from a hospital. But after all, this one is straight in your face...another gem from France