Travel Light with Rupert Bryan's The Hike: A Movie Review

*here be spoilers.

Director: Rupert Bryan.

Writers: Rupert Bryan and Ben Loyd-Holmes.

Cast: Tamer Hassan, Barbara Nedeljakova, Ben Loyd-Holmes, Zara Phythian, Daniel Caren, Dominic Le Moignan, Jemma Bolt, Lisa-Marie Long, and Shauna Macdonald.

There have been many films developed in the rape revenge genre. From I Spit on Your Grave (1978) to Irreversible, there are issues of violence and power shown in this style of film. Rupert Bryan's The Hike is much less violent than the films mentioned here. The villains seem more content with fondling a group of female hikers rather than acting out their dark desires. Thus, The Hike begins as a tepid rape revenge thriller that transitions into a standard horror feature with the ending and music two of only a few quality film elements.

Five girls, Torri (Barbara Nedeljakova), Kate (Zara Phythian), Charlie (Jemma Bolt), Ellie (Lisa-Marie Long) and Leanne (Stephanie Siadatan), head out on a camping trip to escape their relationship problems. Kate has just returned from Afghanistan after losing her boyfriend to a roadside bomb. Torri has to deal with a jealous ex' while Leanne is constantly single and lonely. Their relaxing good times spent next to a roaring fire are short lived when Charlie, their mate, goes missing. Then, the terror is forgotten in lieu of skinny dipping. Oh, those silly girls. Don't they know killers are about?

Those killers seem strange on some level. The sexual conflict between a group of rapists and these women only goes so far. The pseudo-rapists seem more content with terrifying their victims rather than acting out their fantasies. One man rolls around on the ground with Torri for several awkward minutes spouting lines like: "let's see how much fight you have!" There is only so much tension that can be found in these repetitious torture scenes. Then, it becomes a question of who is silliest: the feeble blackhats or the silly hikers.

It seems that both groups are acting ridiculous. The women go charging out into the woods with galoshes, Gucci bags and full makeup. Kate is the only reasonable one in the group. She tries desperately to keep the girls on track. Meanwhile, the villains seem to falter at every turn. They tie up their quarry with loose knots and partial gags. It is only a matter of time before someone escapes. The women flirt with any man who crosses their paths in unbelievable fashion. Then, the killers leave a trail of breadcrumbs, er...bodies a half dozen in number all over the forest. It becomes difficult to deduce who would win the Darwinian Award in this feature.

At the end of the film, some mild excitement begins to develop. The conclusion ends with a final confrontation between the two strongest members of each group. Each character is arguably the best of the bunch. The manipulation increases in these final few scenes as a new character is introduced. The violence also increases as these two characters fight for an edge over the other. The final line of dialogue made this reviewer laugh as a clear winner goes unannounced.

There are many other film elements worth mentioning outside of the conclusion. The music from Ben Bleet is diverse and the up tempos come just as the right times (usually when the girls are running off into the night). The cinematography from James Friend is also excellent. There is a lot of beautiful nature to film. The many night shoots are well lit and the action sequences are mostly well delivered. These positive film elements will keep most viewers interested through the film's short runtime.

One part rape revenge thriller and one part standard horror feature, The Hike is a mostly enjoyable time spent with several lovely women and several average killers. Themes are mostly absent, but the music, conclusion and night shoots are delivered competently. The Hike is, overall, entertaining; however, the writing here is not overly challenging. Where is the film's central message? As well, horror fans will know what to expect when several attractive ladies venture into the woods, alone. It is just too bad that Bryan, the director, does not take this feature to a truly dark sexual place. Because, it is here that he would have found his themes involving power struggles and redemption. Fans will simply have to settle for eye candy instead.

Overall: 6.75 (acting is average, silly moments, the villains needed to display more animosity, good soundtrack and fun ending).

The film's fan page is here:

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Posted in: 2012,dark woods,horror movie review,independent,indie,movie poster,movie review,tamer hassan,united kingdom