Director: Jen McGowan
Writer: Julie Lipson (Screenplay) Stu Pollard (Story)
Starring: Hermione Corfield, Micah Hauptman, Jay Paulson, Sean O’Bryan, Daniel R Hill, John Marshall Jones
Plot: An overachieving college student gets lost on her way to a job interview. A wrong turn leaves her stranded deep in the Kentucky forest. The woman must defend herself against the harsh elements and a band of ruthless outlaws. She is forced into an uneasy alliance with a strange loner who has unknown intentions.
Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Fresh Spin on the Survival Thriller
Story: Rust Creek starts as a college student Sawyer (Corfield) gets offered a job interview for the job she has spent her life studying for, she must travel across the country to arrive at this location, which takes her through a Kentucky forest, on a journey she hasn’t taken before, which only leaves her lost.
While trying to figure out her location, Sawyer is approached by two locals, Hollister (Hauptman) and his brother Buck (Hill) who she handles with, getting injured and lost on foot in the woods. Sheriff O’Doyle (O’Bryan) starts searching for the owner of her car after it is located abandoned on the road, leaving Sawyer to fend for herself after overly friendly local Lowell (Paulson) offers her shelter.
Thoughts on Rust Creek
Characters – Sawyer is the successful college student that is about to be offered a job interview that could be the future she always wanted, she gets lost, but knows how to take care of herself against a threat, she keeps away from them using survival techniques. Sawyer is a strong character, everything about her abilities to survive is done in a believable manor, the problem is that we never learn what her subject of choice is. Hollister is the smarter, more forward brother of the two, he tends to be the one who steps up to create the problems, though he will be the one that looks to end them. Lowell is the meth producer and cousin to Hollister, he offers Sawyer shelter, trying his best to keep her safe knowing what could happen to her if the others get hold of her. Sheriff O’Doyle is trying to figure out what happened to Sawyer, he has pressure from both sides and is planning on not making this a big scene.
Performances – Hermione Corfield takes the leading role in this film, she is the highlight of the film with the strength she shows, the evolution her character goes through and the survival skills she shows. Micah Hauptman, Jay Paulson and Sean O’Bryan are good in the supporting roles.
Story – The story here follows a college student that becomes the target of locals and must survive in the local forest with the help of a meth producer. This story does go in one direction to start with, one we have seen many different times which would have been fine too, the fact this takes a turn and gives us actual development behind villainous characters instead of making them just local hicks. The story does give us the ideas or a survival thriller, only to take that away for part of the story, while this is different, it can take away from what we are expecting to see. The twists do keep the story feeling refreshing though.
Thriller – The movie uses the thrilling side of the events to keep us on edge to just who Sawyer can trust and what will happen to her if she gets caught.
Settings – The film is set in a Kentucky forest which does show us how easily it can be to become lost in the environment you don’t know, how easy secrets can be kept and how the locals know how to track.
Scene of the Movie – The final fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not learning what Sawyer’s education or job interview is for.
Final Thoughts – This is a good thriller that does bring a new look to the survival thriller, it has a good leading lady in Hermione Corfield and will keep you on edge until the end.
Overall: Thriller to keep you guessing.
Rating
