I've never really understood why the concept of environmentalism rubs so many out there the wrong way, especially when it concerns the search for oil. We all know that oil is a non-renewable resource. We know it isn't going to last forever. We know that the pursuit of it has led not only to vast environmental damage, but also numerous wars and countless deaths. And most of us realize that some time in the near future we are going to have to adapt to using an alternate fuel source whether we like it or not. But for some unknown reason, we refuse to move forward. We won't be satisfied until every single inch of the Earth has been drilled and every single drop of oil is used up. We could care less what's being done to the Earth, our atmosphere or our fellow man as long as we have reasonably priced gas to fuel our vehicles.
Environmental concerns seem to split people right down the middle, at least here in the U.S. You have those who side with oil companies and feel there is no reason to change, at least not right now. These people typically encourage drilling wherever there is oil (regardless of whether or not it's a federally protected nature preserve or park) and view those opposed to this as being paranoid "tree huggers" and anti-capitalist. The other side seems to want to cut our dependence on oil (both foreign and domestic) and go ahead and start implementing an alternate fuel source immediately. The same split between the population can be seen for issues of global warming/climate change. There are those who believe it's needless paranoia with no solid scientific data to back it up, while others believe there's either enough evidence on hand to be concerned and ultimately we're better off being safe than sorry. And all shades of gray in between, I'm sure.
The above issues are what fuel this movie. We really don't know for sure what the extent of our damage will be when all is said and done. We also don't know what interesting ways mother nature may react to what we are doing...
The film is set in Northern Alaska at the remote site of a future oil drilling installation. Ron Perlman plays Ed Pollack, who represents the corporate side of the fight; a man excited about the prospect of a huge untapped oil reserve located within a wildlife sanctuary. Jim (played by James Le Gros) represents the other side of the struggle; an environmentalist who worries about the damage being done. His concerns are brushed off by Ed and most of the others until strange events begin occurring. The group seem to have unleashed either a supernatural force or some type of hallucinogenic toxic gas that leads to paranoia, madness and murder.
Director/producer/co-writer Larry Fessenden (HABIT, WENDIGO) does an excellent job exploiting the desolate snowy landscape and sense of icy isolation in a way comparable to Carpenter's THE THING. For the first hour he also does a good job keeping the threat obscured and dealing with our fear of the unknown. We have no idea whether we're dealing with something supernatural or natural (which may be one in the same, actually). The production values, cinematography and music are all good, as is the dialogue and acting.
Unfortunately, I felt the entire film was undermined by several wrong turns along the way. Blast it! Through some typically lame CGI, the off-screen menace is finally visualized as big, stealthy, silly-looking dinosaur/ moose hybrids (wendigos?). If we were able to fall back on the toxic gas scenario, with the monsters simply being hallucinations, this might have been forgivable. However, several occurrences - strange animal footprints seen in the snow, a plague of crows feasting on corpses, video evidence of the creatures, etc. - do no allow us to draw that conclusion. If the filmmakers had kept this more ambiguous and let we, the viewers, decide for ourselves, I'd probably consider this one of the better horror films of the decade. As is, it's an interesting, well-made, well-meaning film with a good concept, but they failed to pull it all together at the end.
Still, this one did make me think. And I'm still thinking about it a few hours after watching it, which is - to me - always a good thing.
Environmental concerns seem to split people right down the middle, at least here in the U.S. You have those who side with oil companies and feel there is no reason to change, at least not right now. These people typically encourage drilling wherever there is oil (regardless of whether or not it's a federally protected nature preserve or park) and view those opposed to this as being paranoid "tree huggers" and anti-capitalist. The other side seems to want to cut our dependence on oil (both foreign and domestic) and go ahead and start implementing an alternate fuel source immediately. The same split between the population can be seen for issues of global warming/climate change. There are those who believe it's needless paranoia with no solid scientific data to back it up, while others believe there's either enough evidence on hand to be concerned and ultimately we're better off being safe than sorry. And all shades of gray in between, I'm sure.
The above issues are what fuel this movie. We really don't know for sure what the extent of our damage will be when all is said and done. We also don't know what interesting ways mother nature may react to what we are doing...
The film is set in Northern Alaska at the remote site of a future oil drilling installation. Ron Perlman plays Ed Pollack, who represents the corporate side of the fight; a man excited about the prospect of a huge untapped oil reserve located within a wildlife sanctuary. Jim (played by James Le Gros) represents the other side of the struggle; an environmentalist who worries about the damage being done. His concerns are brushed off by Ed and most of the others until strange events begin occurring. The group seem to have unleashed either a supernatural force or some type of hallucinogenic toxic gas that leads to paranoia, madness and murder.
Director/producer/co-writer Larry Fessenden (HABIT, WENDIGO) does an excellent job exploiting the desolate snowy landscape and sense of icy isolation in a way comparable to Carpenter's THE THING. For the first hour he also does a good job keeping the threat obscured and dealing with our fear of the unknown. We have no idea whether we're dealing with something supernatural or natural (which may be one in the same, actually). The production values, cinematography and music are all good, as is the dialogue and acting.
Unfortunately, I felt the entire film was undermined by several wrong turns along the way. Blast it! Through some typically lame CGI, the off-screen menace is finally visualized as big, stealthy, silly-looking dinosaur/ moose hybrids (wendigos?). If we were able to fall back on the toxic gas scenario, with the monsters simply being hallucinations, this might have been forgivable. However, several occurrences - strange animal footprints seen in the snow, a plague of crows feasting on corpses, video evidence of the creatures, etc. - do no allow us to draw that conclusion. If the filmmakers had kept this more ambiguous and let we, the viewers, decide for ourselves, I'd probably consider this one of the better horror films of the decade. As is, it's an interesting, well-made, well-meaning film with a good concept, but they failed to pull it all together at the end.
Still, this one did make me think. And I'm still thinking about it a few hours after watching it, which is - to me - always a good thing.