Thanks for the memories!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

best movie i've ever seen.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

... or 'Black Mountain Side' as it is sometimes known, is a story that has much in common with John Carpenter's 'The Thing (1982)', but made with a fraction of the budget. For an independent film, it boasts great cinematography, convincing acting and good sound design. The occasional effects are believable, but there are really too few of them.Or perhaps I should say, there is too much of everything else. Even shorn of twenty minutes, this would still be a slow-burner, saved to a certain extent by the characters (all men), who are believable and share a sense of chemistry with each other. But it is just too dull, I'm sorry to say. There's little pace, momentum or even atmosphere which is surprising given the excellent location. The views of the wonderfully crisp snowy backdrop of are fairly static and often looks like the same shot repeated.Things happen, certain characters become affected - there is a terrific moment when one of them, apparently randomly, cuts off his hand - all powerfully staged. But there's no build up from that. The slow reveal of the evil spirit is nicely restrained, and represents a high point.I really wanted to like this more than I did. In its favour, it has a Lovecraftian 'vibe' to it, but that's never much more than a vague suggestion. Even the ending is decidedly perfunctory and after nearly two hours, that is a shame.

For some reason I find this movie amusing and quite interesting. The buildup with the amazing north Canadian landscape backdrop is similar to that of The Thing. Both films has cold remote locations where strange things slowly begin to happen. In this film what "The being/it", is left unexplained and it's up to you to figure it out. It is not as gory as The Thing but it has some moments that made it hard for me to go to sleep the night I watched it. It has something to do with that Deer 'Thing' that's making several appearances and utters some really corny lines but nevertheless is an eerie apparition to see in the dark. The film is filled with goofs, loose ends and a lot of unanswered questions. Some actors stands out and some are not so good. But mostly they are doing a good job capturing the paranoia and cabin fever'ish mood. Stupid goofs like, "we have two weeks worth of supply and gas for the generator" Why not conserve it? no use generator even during daylight. It's "50 below outside" yet we see a clear thawing :-D What happened to the squid infested arm that was chopped off? No explanation or examinations of that arm, why? And Why was the cat sacrificed? By whom? And finally, what was the deer "thing"?! A god? An alien? A manifestation of cabin fever ? I watched this on Bluray, and it really gives the beautiful cold landscape it's own right. Can recommend this. If you watch it with low expectations you might find it has a moment or two.

I had read somewhere (it was probably the same folks that gave it 4 stars on the DVD cover?) that this was an interesting and good (4 star film) FORGET IT I very rarely spend the energy & time to review anything BAD but when it's truly BAD or just annoyingly BAD then every now & again I will address the issue...i'm a LOVER not a HATER.But this is so BORING & BAD that I just thought i'd give a heads up to anyone else thinking of picking it up (even on the cheap) or watching it on TV....DON'T.It's been stated it's similar to John Carpenter's superb classic "The Thing"!!! now what film was that reviewer watching? because this is NOTHING like that film except they try to copy a good few scenes and turn them into a yawn fest.Clearly a very cheaply mounted film with sadly nothing to redeem it except for the strangest most weird ending featuring a favourite Christmas animal :) I've reviewed over 40 films now...and many don't agree with my reviews and I don't mind but i'd be truly amazed to find one out there that disagreed with this one.Of those 40+ I have reviewed only 3 where BAD one's..."THE FOG" remake which I just wish could be erased forever! "A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD" which is the stupidest DIE HARD film they could have ever made! it didn't even feature McClain at it's heart it was his dumb son (I had to disapprove of that one!) and then "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" which like this my 4th BAD review is just so damn boring! A good percentage of you out there could turn out a better script & story than this silly twist on THE THING, which will just make you laugh sadly as you watch it, still can't believe I got through it to the end but I did and for that I deserve a GOOD drink.You'll be SORRY if you try to sit through this...Something found in the ice (never properly explained) a scientist guy arrives late to the scene just in time for the workers to walk out, cat dies, it's having an effect on the team, they go crazy, shoot & harm themselves due to the VIRUS type THING (yup that's all it is) more shots of walks into the woods and around the snowy cabin, another guy shoots himself in the face, a strange talking creature turns up (not pulling a sleigh) and the traps talked about for a few seconds in the movie gets the final guy in the END...BIG DEAL.A Cigarette Packet script & it gets a 1 from me but it's close to a 0.BLESS you 3 folks (currently, sorry if any of you were involved or took part in this film but you just gotta be HONEST)

There are dozens of films with varying degrees of blood, gore, and pseudo-scientific probability - about unearthing long buried or frozen dormant viruses, creatures and mutations. Here's another. Some are big screen, along the lines of The Thing. Big budget and overwhelming. Some underwhelming. This film is done low budget and low key, but with a kind of novel slant. No music, no big names, no fancy script. Some people hated it because of that. I welcomed the change. It's a film that you can sit and pay half attention, until something totally unexpected happens. Back it up - watch again - whoa.It's the far north in Canada. We have a small, multi-cabin camp with quite a few archeologists, support staff, and local native diggers. They unearth something from a heretofore unknown, undated era. Along with the artifacts, comes what killed that small segment of population. Guess what? Anyway, overall, it's under-done and seems more human than the big buck stuff. That's what I liked. It wasn't a Gilbert and Sullivan production of giant lizards - and no zombies - and how often do we have accompanying music while we go about our work in the north woods? Just a bunch of guys who dug up the wrong remains. Oops.The more realistic and probable 'it' is, whatever it may be, the more I like the movie. There was only one transgression I noted. Right up front the narration advises how cold it is. Then it's never mentioned again, and people stomp around day and night in varying layers of clothing, with and without gloves or headgear. I guess maybe the camera lights kept them warm.