Reviews

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  ★★★★ review by Christina on Letterboxd

  Slow start but then tension rises with one of the most ferocious bear attacks I've seen. Awesome yet terrifying.
  
  Instant favorite.

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  ★★★½ review by Thomas Ringdal on Letterboxd

  Manages to pack enough tension in its backpack to make the trip into the woods a thrilling ride, helped out by a very convincing bear.
  
  Missy Peregrym is a girl (woman?) I wish I'd had the pleasure of watching in more films, and both her and co-star Roop deliver fine performances as the hiking couple. Eric Balfour's Irish wilderness buff....well.....uhhh. If only it'd had some significance....

  The happy couple are on their way to this spot the guy loved to visit in his youth. She on the other hand is unfazed by the apparent magic of the wilderness. Then the guy goes and declines the offer of bringing along a map, and lots of palms clashed with faces at screens around the world.

  Some annoyances aside, it is a very fine directorial debut, filmed in ways that effectiviely puts the viewer front and center, especially in the more hectic sequences. It could stand to lose a few scenes of cinematography that looks more like goofing around with a camera than anything else, if I'm being picky.
  
  Good special effects, as well.

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  ★★★★ review by Nicole on Letterboxd

  Backcountry serves as a great reminder as to why I'm quite alright with not being an "outdoorsy" type.

  Not action packed by any means, but there are scenes that are pretty intense - like mouth open, this is sick, but I can't look away intense.

  If I had been in their situation, I wouldn't have stood a chance. And that's why I'll be on the couch with Netflix, instead of in the woods.

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  ★★★½ review by Daniel on Letterboxd

  Hey, this was pretty good. I actually enjoyed this. I remember hearing about it awhile ago. But it took until now to actually watch it and I'm mostly glad that I did because it's an entertaining film. But that's about it.

  This film does an excellent job at creating this eerie atmosphere - this was one of the major reasons on why the tension continued to build incredibly well through most of the film. I was very impressed by it all.

  They added onto the growing tension with two very solid lead performances as well. But despite how they remarkably kept building this tension through the film. I didn't find it to be all that scary at all.

  Don't get me wrong; it's not like I was expecting a ton of jump scares. Because I had a rough idea of what this was before I went to it. But it still could have been less boring than it actually was at times here and there.

  I found that one saving factor about this film was the bear. Every scene with this beast had you on the edge of your seat - and when he struck. It was insane. He was a force of nature. And it made this film one thing.

  The Bear made it safe to call this film savagely entertaining - and yes. I agree with others. If this was the bear in The Revenant with DiCaprio, then yes, he wouldn't have made it. Because this one is a relentless monster.

  Definitely give this a shot if you haven't already. It's not amazing or anything. But I actually had fun with it. It's a little boring at times here and there. Mainly at the beginning. But it picks up more and more as it goes on. Really fun film.

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  ★★★★ review by Anthony Leroy on Letterboxd

  One of the most emotionally draining and perfectly tense horror films I've seen in a long time. I hated camping before and I especially hate it now, after seeing this movie.

  Includes probably the most disturbing and brutal bear attack in a film, which added so much to the horror and reality of this flick. The effects were astounding and so was Missy Peregrym's flawless performance in the lead.

  Also, props to whoever's idea it was to have 'Looking For The Magic' by Dwight Twilley Band and 'Memorial' by Bring Me The Horizon in the soundtrack. Solid choices.

  However, I feel that the beginning of the film was a bit too slow and I would have liked it if the bear made more of an appearance throughout the last quarter of the film. Also, the "red herring" character bugged me. Thankfully, the story didn't turn out the way it seemed like it would, once his character was introduced.

  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this film was. I'm definitely gonna be looking forward to what Adam MacDonald does next. If it leaves me with a feeling anywhere close to the one I got from this harrowing tale of survival, count me in.

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