The Hide (2008)

Very well executed

recommended

one of my absolute favorites!

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Excellent and surprisingly engaging for a slow two man play.It is a pleasure to see films made in such limited spaces with just two performers convincingly delivering the excellent script. The director manages to keep the viewer engaged and somehow the tension increases despite the potential limitations.Enjoyable throughout.

As a fairly enthusiastic bird watcher I had to watch this when I saw it advertised in the TV guide if only to see just how inaccurate the portrayal of the hobby would be. When we are shown bird watcher Roy entering the hide, arranging his equipment, sitting down then talking to himself referring to birds by there Linnaean names it looks as if he will exhibit every cliché in the book. Soon he is joined by Dave; a suspicious looking Liverpudlian who clearly has no interest in the bird life. They soon get talking though and Roy explains that he is hoping to find a sociable plover as it will be the last bird he needs to see to have seen every bird on the British list. As they chat Roy shares his sandwiches and the two of them exchange stories about their lives and how neither of them is with the women they loved. When Dave pops out to relieve himself it looks as if things are going to get bad for Roy… Roy hears on his radio that the police are looking for a killer and Dave is shown to have a pistol! When Dave returns the tension rises to a point where some shocking secrets are revealed and we learn that neither man is quite what he appeared to be.As the film opened I was sure I would not like it, as the film seemed to misrepresent a hobby I enjoy, however as it progressed I got caught up with the story. This was almost largely down to Alex MacQueen who played Roy and Phil Campbell who played Dave. Director Marek Losey did a fine job keeping things very tense and claustrophobic. I was expecting a twist at the end but thankfully when that twist arrived it wasn't quite what I expected; it was much darker. It was a pity Roy's birding target wasn't more plausible; although with what we learn about him later on it could have been a clever sign that something was very wrong with him! Over all I enjoyed this more than I expected and would recommend it to people wanting an atmospheric film which doesn't need CGI and a huge cast to get things exciting.

Cinema and theater are two different things. I think it has something to do with your attention. On stage I am sure this would be gripping, especially with McQueen as Roy, because you are forced to pay attention to the actors. On TV it's OK, a bit too long and with a fairly obvious twist, but it holds your attention. However, if I had paid to watch this in the cinema, I might have walked out. I loved the characters and McQueen is perfectly cast as Roy, a middle-England birdwatching cannibal.Its a good play, a reasonably TV movie, but would make for a very boring evening on the big screen. I think it might have worked better as a black comedy.

I enjoyed this film a great deal. It was beautifully shot and on an obviously low budget, but the makers wrung out every ounce of value out of every penny. The two principles were excellent. Alex McQueen is already well known, but I hope to see more of the impressive Phil Campbell in future outings. Make no mistake this film is dark and slow and if you like noisy boring muscle-bound cgi stuff this film isn't for you, but if you like films that take their time and treat the audience as adults then it just might be. In my opinion we need more of the latter and far fewer of the former, but then again I'm old-fashioned and the story and character development come before flash, bang, wallop for me every time.