A Lonely Place to Die - Don't believe the negative reviews!

I remember when I first saw 'A Lonely Place to Die' I really enjoyed it, then I read the reviews and it seemed that it was one of those films that you either love or hate.  It's about a group of friends who spend their free time climbing crazy heights up mountains (each to their own, eh?).  Then, one day, when they're out in the middle of nowhere (and there's absolutely NO cell phone coverage - seasoned horror fans will know that's a bad sign in itself!), they come across a young girl imprisoned underground in the middle of a wood.  Naturally, being the good folk they are they set her free.  However, those who captured her in the first place don't take too kindly to this sort of 'meddling.'

It seems that the people who didn't like the film all say the same thing: that it starts off well, but goes downhill in at roughly the midway mark.  I guess I can - sort of - see where they're coming from.  The beginning of the film starts by building up the relationships between the characters due to the general banter between them all.  And we find ourselves genuinely caring about the group of friends and not want to see them brutally gunned down or plummet out of the sky off a cliff and embed themselves in the rocks below.  However, I wonder where the people who didn't like the film saw it heading?  What follows - and I hope this isn't too much of a 'spoiler' - is a cat and mouse-like chase between the nasties who imprisoned the young girl and those trying to save her (and, in doing so, themselves at the same time).

Personally, I found the second half of the film to be a natural progression of the events which were set in motion at the beginning.  Yes, you could say that the second half of the film almost feels like a completely different film to how it began, but I didn't mind it at all.  I liked the characters and, although the antagonists were hardly 'fleshed out' to any great lengths other than they were 'baddies' who kidnapped people, I wasn't expecting some sort of amazing, character-driven epic.  It is what it is and I enjoyed it for what it did.  I suppose if I did have to offer one criticism it's that the film's lead (Melissa George) doesn't really do much in the way of acting for the second half.  I've seen her in enough other films to know that she's a very competent lead and could do better than the script (or lack thereof in the second half!) gives her to do.  All she really does is run away.

It's also totally worth mentioning the scenery, as it was filmed in some fantastic locations which really do a great job at showing just how, well, 'lonely' some parts of Britain really are.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that