BACKCOUNTRY takes a fairly simple premise and setting and does a pretty decent job creating some tense atmosphere. No surprises, though if you know the ending of the doc GRIZZLY MAN this film's climax is much like the visualization of that brutal carnage (which is in fact surprisingly effective). There maybe one too many shallow focus photography style nature shots and sometimes the characters do seemingly silly or even frustratingly stupid things but the performances are believable. I did some backpacking long ago so much of the slow-burn lead-in was just a nice look back on my own experiences. I should add that this film is infinitely better than WILLOW CREEK which has similar elements but was just god-awfully ineffective and pointless. #facebook
