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Cast: Eion Bailey, Yvonne Strahovski, Will Patton
A backcountry excursion deep into the Grand Canyon wilderness is a honeymoon come true for city slickers Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) until a viper bite debilitates their grizzled old guide (Will Patton), leaving the couple leaderless and utterly lost. Now the pair are in a fight for their lives against starvation, treacherous weather, ravenous wolves and worse.
I am not sure why this film has gotten some bad reviews, not every film like this has to have underground dwellers or cannibals running around. The Canyon is slow-paced early on but that is to set up the relationship and basic story-line so we can care about the characters later on when it really counts. this is a thriller with a nice dose of drama tossed in, your not going to get the action or thrills you might of gotten from other movies like this but this takes a bit more realistic approach to the whole survival film and deals more with the couple having to battle nature and the dangers within the Grand Canyon that most people that are not experienced at exploring might face. The tension slowly builds as the film moves along and you sense the fear in this couple as well as their desperation to find a way out before the dangers that lurk attack in full force. The script is well-written and it stays focused on the whole survival thing in a very believable way. The back story to the couple isn't explored all that much but it never really has to since this is just two normal people who just want to take a mule ride through the canyon. The cast is very good, Will Patton is his terrific self as always, my only gripe is he left the film too early. Eion Bailey and Yvonne Strahovski are great together as the couple looking to just make their way out alive. The musical score and cinematography really add to the tension and over-all feeling of dread the two must be feeling. The Canyon is a low-budget film that takes a genre that has been done over and over again and gives it a more realistic and much more believable spin that remains entertaining till the bitter end. The ending I liked because it avoided the typical Hollywood way out. If you like these types of thrillers then I highly recommend picking this one up I am sure you will find it to be an enjoyable edge of your seat, get out alive thriller.
Released by Magnolia Home Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****