Culture Magazine

Solo (Alone, in UK) (2013)

By Newguy

logoDirector: Isaac Cravit

Writer: Isaac Cravit (Screenplay)

Starring: Annie Clark, Daniel Kash, Richard Clarkin, Steven Love, Alyssa Capriotti

 

Plot: Attempting to move past a family tragedy the summer previous, 17-year-old Gillian takes a job as a counselor at a remote summer camp. As part of her initiation, she must spend two nights by herself on the camp’s island, an intimidating collision of rock and wilderness carved out of the lake, supposedly haunted by the ghost of a camper who disappeared suspiciously decades before. When Gillian’s ‘solo’ is interrupted by a local man responding to a distress call, what was meant to be a peaceful time alone in nature devolves into something disturbingly different. As her paranoia mounts, a horrifying secret is uprooted and Gillian finds herself in desperate fight to survive.

 

Verdict: A Simple Thriller

 

Story: To give this film some credit it starts by feeding us all this ghost story idea and when our heroine does her solo camp trip we think if something happens it will be her getting haunted. We get left to wonder about a mystery on the island about a young girl who disappeared years before. The film uses the isolation and the unstable mind of our heroine to try and play along the paranoid angle which would be perfect with a ‘solve the mystery ghost story’. My big dislike about this film is that it decides to go a different direction after fueling a ghost story it just turns into a person trying to remember what happened when the girl went missing. This loses all the strength the film created and makes the film get lost between two different ideas. (5/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Annie Clark: Gillian young counselor who goes on her solo camping trip, she has a secret in her past that haunts her a night and the camping trip could push her over the edge when her paranoia starts to take over. She is slightly lost in the world of camping but she does well when her life ends up being put in danger. Good performance from the young actress showing she has the ability to hold the attention of the audience when on the screen solo. (7/10)

 

Daniel Kash: Ray stranger who offers help to Gillian, but in the end is keeping a secret that could end up costing anyone who comes to the island their lives. Solid creepy stranger with a secret performance. (6/10)

 

Richard Clarkin: Fred leader of the camp site who is haunted by the disappearance of the young girl all those years ago. Had to really rate as it is only a small role. (5/10)

Steven Love: Marty fellow counselor who comes to the island to play a little prank on Gillian but ends up fighting for his life. Basic support performance who spends most of the time injured after the attack. (4/10)

Director Review: Isaac Cravit – Does well to create a solid sound ghost story only to throw it on its head half way through. (5/10)

 

Mystery: There is a good mystery to solve but I feel it would have been better as a ghost like mystery to solve rather than what we got in the end. (5/10)

Thriller: Once it gets going it turns into a nice little thriller that keeps your attention. (8/10)

Settings: Isolation factor helps the story get over well as there is nowhere to run. (10/10)

Suggestion: This is one for the thriller fans to give a go, it will most likely be one you have never heard off and as the cast are all relative unknowns it does give it a realer feel about it. (Thriller Fans Try)

 

Best Part: Build-up of ghost story idea.

Worst Part: The turn into a mad man chasing the girl.

Believability: Someone could harbor a secret for this long. (3/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes

Tagline: Last the night or it’s your last night

 

Overall: Basic Thriller Worth Seeing

Rating 

55


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