Movies.ie

• Critic rating
• Currently 3/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

A group of climbers are tackling one of Scotland’s highest mountains when they stumble upon a pipe sticking up out of the ground. And, after hearing her cries, a young girl buried underneath. Soon, the climbers are under fire as they attempt to rescue the kidnapped girl, her two captors (one played by the great Sean Harris, so effective in Harry Brown and Red Riding) determined that their payday doesn’t get away…

THE VERDICT: The wilderness chase movie may not be anything new at this stage, but, as with all genre pieces, when it’s done with enough energy, inventiveness and style, it can make for an enjoyable thrill ride. And A Lonely Place To Die, after a slow set-up, just about manages that, the strong villain as always matched by a strong target – Aussie actress Melissa George (30 Days Of Night, the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror) knows her way around trouble, and, as stated earlier, Harris was born for scaring the crap out of men, women and children.

Review by Paul Byrne

• Avg User rating
• Currently 2/5 Stars.

User Reviews

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  Marty hanratty

  

  Despite the many faults with the story (particularly the logic), there’s good action and the film moves well once it gets started.  Lots of running, climbing and dodging bullets.  You could do worse. 

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  Onionhead

  

  Melissa George and her friends go climbing in Scotland and stumble across a secret buried in the woods. They try and go for help but discover that they're not alone. The movie starts off as slow burning and intriguing, with plenty of sweeping shots of the rugged Scottish landscape, it then changes abruptly about half way through, losing all of its subtlety and becomes a standard chase movie with guns. It's almost as if the director lost their nerve and decided to go for blood and glory just in case the audience gets a little bored. Some scenes seem to be thrown in just so someone else can be killed, and the body count by the end of the movie is a bit on the high side.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  vu1999uk

  

  Good solid thriller with some great jump moments and genuine shocks. Melissa George holds the whole film together well.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  thegift06

  

  Wasnt expecting much from this movie but it pleasantly surprised me. I can safely say I will never go mountain climbing in my life after watching this film. At the beginning its boring and not very interesting but once the action starts it never stops. I would probably recommend this film to people, but dont expect too much

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  filmbuff2011

  

  Mountaineers get more than they bargained for, in this sort-of Scottish take on Southern Comfort and any number of kidnap films, headed-up by scream queen Melissa George. It all gets very convoluted by the end, but it's an enjoyable enough wilderness thriller. If Julian Gilbey can find a more refined script to attach his obvious talents too, then he has a bright future ahead.

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  &IKnowMovies

  

  A Lonely Place to Die opens with sweeping views of the Scottish Highlands and 3 mountain climbers scaling the sheer side of a cliff my immediate thought was ‘Why?’ but then again I’m not a mountain climby person. (I still get flashbacks from being duped into climbing Croagh Patrick under the pretence of ‘Hill walking’ Croagh feckin’ Patrick!) Cue more sweeping shots of mountains, up and down, around and around. The nausea set in fast with this one. There was an am dram feel about the characters before they even reached summit. George's pouting is truly the stuff of movie poster and screen shot dreams. The script by Director Julian Wilby and his brother William seemed like an afterthought. Though a heart stopping fright at this point was to signal the first in several shocks and frights to follow. Heart rate up and knowing that these folks were about to make a discovery I couldn't help but want to fast forward, if only to quell the queasiness . The ‘characters’, unfortunately, lacked any kind of chemistry or depth and, because of that, likeability. In true 'No good deed goes unpunished' fashion, the kidnappers rear their ugly heads as the climbers attempt to get to safety with their reluctant rescued child. These men are menacing, murdering and ruthless. The chase is on. More sweeping shots and shaky camera work, ups the vom level once more. Having only seen Kill List last week the tension, suspense and shocks are on a par but the humour that endeared you to the Kill List characters is completely void here. There’s jump after jump as the plot twists with several leaps made in the storyline that just don’t gel. There could have been so much more done with what is essentially a great premise. As the credits rolled I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I’m sure better casting would have helped. Maybe some climbing rope to span the gaping plot holes too.The budget deficiencies are more than evident but it’s not all bad, if you’re looking for a fast paced survival thriller with not a whole lot of substance this is the one for you. (That’s not what my Mother said; I can’t repeat what my Mother said.)

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  mart

  

  Pacily directed, entertaining thriller with striking location work and strong performances from Melissa George and Sean Harris, though it's slightly let down by an underwritten script and a loss of focus in the final act.