Few Will Make it Over Devil's Bridge: A Movie Review

Director/writer: Chris Crow.

Devil's Bridge is an indie horror film from the United Kingdom. This is director and writer Chris Crow's first major release and Devil's Bridge deals with three blokes on holiday. They leave Essex for Wales, but they might have wanted to avoid one stop in a backwoods country town. Here, a hunter reminds the men who is boss in the Welsh wilderness with threats, stares, gunfire and even stabbings. The guys get the message a little too late. And thus, we have another urban versus rural encroachment theme with elements of Welsh history and territory aggression tied into a fairly predictable thriller.

Adam (Michael Jibson), Danny (Gary Mavers), and Sean (Joseph Millson) are the three men "on the piss." Sean is searching for a family friend who can get him out of his financial troubles. On the way to find this mystery man, they almost run over a hunter whose personality is like that of a stone wall. All comments just bounce off of him. All four men will reunite for a night of terror as Bill has a bone to pick with interlopers in this land. Let the human game hunt begin!

The calm before the storm

Unfortunately, the film is not as exciting as it could be. Devil's Bridge is really about fourty minutes of cat-and-mouse while the actors do the best with characters they have been assigned. Sean is the protagonist and the desperate family man. He fights the hardest and the longest. Danny is the wisest. He knows when to keep his mouth shut. Adam is the opposite. He is a loudmouth and, arguably, he gets the group of men in trouble by insulting Bill (Joshua Richards) on his way out of a local pub. All three of these characters will have to face Bill and his angry tirade of encroachment at some point in the night.

And encroachment is the major theme in the film. The local urban Welsh settlers apparently do not like tourists, travellers or outsiders in their town or on their land. The townies see the men as foreign despite all of the character's are of English nationality. Bill sees more differences in their cockney accents than he does similarities. Perhaps Bill is trying to fight something foreign inside himself as seen in a few scenes of self-dialogue. Either way, the visitors do not have home turf to fight on, which works in Bill's favour.

The early Anglo-Saxon chant over the credit sequence did not work to this film fan's favour. If you are not familiar, England has been invaded by various warrior tribes throughout the 8th and 9th Century and even further back. During this time period the Anglo-Saxons, or German tribes took over and they settled in the Southeast of the country near where the men in the film are from, Essex. So, it would seem appropriate for the film to begin with this song; yet, the chant or cheer is awkward and it almost seems out of tune. Outside of the music, the story is predictable and this style of film has been tried in films like Surviving the Game (1994) and others. Only here the hunt is initiated, really, because of territorial aggression or to protect family tradition from a perceived threat. Even the finale can be seen with some assurance.

Therefore, this reviewer would recommend that fans see Chris Crow's much better Panic Button. Panic Button is a little more psychological, more disturbing and overall more mysterious. Devil's Bridge is a horror film whose story is as straight forward as it can be. And the genre of horror is best utilized with some mystery. Putting all of the cards on the table too soon creates for little tension and few surprises. So, fly the unfriendly skies in Panic Button rather than travelling the backwoods of Devil's Bridge. Or, watch this film if you have a grudge against Essex because you will be rewarded by their demise!

Overall: 6 out of 10 (indie, few surprises, some thrills, Adam is an interesting character, the others seem to have few flaws,

The Devil's Bridge Homepage:

The Devil's Bridge Homepage

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Posted in: 2012,2012 release,hunter prey,independent,movie review,united kingdom