Roze-Rating: 4 / 5

Liam Neeson stars in this survival thriller, taking place in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness after his plane crashes leaving him and his colleagues stranded as Wolf prey. They are totally exposed in a barren land of snow and freezing temperatures, making them fight for their lives. It’s a film which explores hope, faith and fate, when in a situation where only your own will to live can save you.

One of the better survival thrillers around and definitely one of the most unique films this year. I’ve actually never seen a film which depicts such a disastrous situation as scarily as this. I mean what’s more scary than being in a plane crash? and then on top of that, you end up crashing in the middle of nowhere, where the temperatures are below zero, and on top of that you have to fend off uncharacteristically brutal wolves who just want to kill you. Even though some of the scenes are inevitable, you’re actually so immersed in the film that you second guess every seemingly predictable moment.

The isolated afflicted tone of the film is what gives the themes explored justice, and it really keeps your heart pumping for the characters involved. They succeed simply because of the dark greyish aesthetics and eerie music which is inhabited throughout the film. The filming is rugged and shaky matching the scenario the characters are in, it just wouldn’t have been effective if the camera shots were still and precise. All of this truly adds to the thrills and gets you sweating as it did for me.

Liam Neeson and co steal the show with some believably gritty performances, which doesn’t just aid the story but makes you genuinely want them to survive. The characters do this through their dialogue and their attitudes in the situations, they effectively promote the themes of hope, faith and fate. It’s their faith that keeps them going because they believe that it was their fate to survive the plane crash. Hope is all they have.

Once again Liam Neeson is truly amazing in this, really showing his true acting chops. The last few scenes are honestly the most powerful scenes I’ve seen in a film this year, pretty epic stuff.

I for one is shit scared of wolves now, I know a lot of it is exaggerated and fictionalized but still, if I was alone in the wilderness and saw a wolf, I think I would excrete from every hole in my body, PERIOD.