The Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)
In February of 1959, nine Russian hikers ventured into a remote area of the Ural Mountains. Two weeks later, all of them were found dead. What happened is a mystery that has baffled investigators and researchers for decades. It has become known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident. When five ambitious American college students are issued a grant to return to the site of the original events, they gear up with the belief that they can uncover and document the truth of what happened to the supposedly experienced hikers. But what they find is more shocking than anything they could have imagined. Retracing the steps of the Russians' ill-fated journey, the students are plagued by strange and increasingly terrifying phenomena that suggest that in spite of the desolate surroundings, they are not alone. The forces at work in the Dyatlov Pass Incident have been waiting for them.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
So much average
Great Film overall
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
The acting in this film really stands out. It's horrible and highly agitating. The acting is very distracting from the story. The story in itself is OK, nothing special.The last half hour it picks up but doesn't make up for the first hour of the film. A waste of time!
Normally I enjoy Harlin's movies--he may often get cheesy material but he usually brings a lot more energy and fun to it than other directors who get a lot of "worst ever" flack. But this is bad even beyond being the umpteenth unnecessary, uninspired and highly unconvincing "found footage" horror exercise. The warmup is exceptionally boring and annoying--it's almost as if the screenwriter imagines we'd be INTERESTED in these generic dullards making campfire chitchat while nothing at all is happening, a very strange assumption. When the s--t hits the fan, the film miscalculates in the same way "Blair Witch" did for some viewers: It burdens the female lead with making all the wrong decisions, rendering her unsympathetic. (I actually find the "Blair Witch" character likable enough, but her equivalent here is just annoying.) Then in the last stretch there's a leap to fantasy that is neither original or developed enough to be effective. The sum impact is completely, instantly forgettable, and not even trashy fun--in fact it was so boring that I fast forwarded through some of the early going, and it takes a lot for me to decide a movie is so disposable I can safely skip some of it.
As a "found footage" lover, I appreciated this clever contribution to the genre. The movie was cautiously arranged, but, more significantly, it perfectly justified all the conventional features of f.f. horrors; The setting is fascinating and the adventurous spirit of the characters is inspiring. It all goes smoothly until the end : the final plot twist ruins everything. The visual effects in that scene are kindly considerable as "cheap" , so shockingly bad that the lack of technical quality ends up covering the actual meaning of the last sequence. Beyond this controversial point, the movie is generally thrilling and worth watching. I remember feeling pleasantly challenged as it began : I kept asking myself what kind of tragedy was going to happen to the group of hikers. A storm? Wild monsters? No, nothing like it. Let's conclude by saying that this movie was an absolute surprise.
I would actually rate this film around a 7.5-8 out of ten but since it has such a low rating, I will give it a 10 to boost its score. I really like it. It had an informative introduction which got you interested in the case. The whole Ural mountains environment was rather nice and the tension built up. There was once scene which was flat-out cringe worthy but other than that, it was enjoyable. The last half of the film came kind of abruptly however. What is its true saving grace is its ending which is mind-blowing. Without spoiling anything, it ties everything up and basically makes the film. I absolutely loved that ending and it makes the build-up feel relevant. The film is however not really scary at all. There are a couple interesting scenes regarding fear and some bizarre elements but all in all, not really scary. The story is what keeps the film going and I was entertained throughout. IF you feel like watching an interesting film with supernatural elements, watch this.