Black Rock 2012

Not every island is a paradise.

4.9 / 10   224 vote(s)
R
Thriller Horror

Three childhood friends set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.

Release Date 2012-01-21
Runtime 1h 19m
Directors Hillary Spera, Katie Aselton, Chip Mefford
Producers Mark Duplass, Pete Shilaimon, Adele Romanski, Jay Duplass, Mickey Liddell
Writers Mark Duplass, Katie Aselton

Not very original, but, very powerful. At least, very powerful for a genre debut starring Kate Bosworth.

Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.

Gimly

Finding your instincts to KILL on a remote Maine island

Three women around the age of 30 partake of a reunion vacation to a Maine island where they hanged out when they were girls and had a fort. Sarah (Kate Bosworth) masterminds the event with the hope of reconciling the estranged Abby (Katie Aselton) and Lou (Lake Bell). The camping trip starts well enough, but things go awry and it turns into a survival situation.

"Black Rock" (2012) is a life-or-death backwoods drama/adventure/horror in the tradition of “Deliverance” (1972), “The Edge” (1997), “Nightmare at Bittercreek” (1988) and “Backcountry” (2014). While it lacks the budget of the first two, it’s at least as good as the latter two.

These types of flicks are about being backed into a corner in the wilderness and finding your instincts to survive at all costs, including your primitive rage to kill if necessary. This one’s totally realistic and very well done, not to mention pleasantly streamlined.

The film runs 1 hour, 20 minutes, and was shot around Milbridge, Maine.

GRADE: B+

Wuchak