Review of A Lonely Place to Die (2011) by Greg T — 21 Sep 2011

With the vertiginous chills of "Cliffhanger" and the intense chases of "Southern Comfort", this low-budget thriller set in the Scottish Highlands is an unexpected delight. Five friends, hiking in the Highlands, find a young girl buried alive miles from civilisation.

Unsurprisingly she's not there for her health, and when they rescue her the nefarious scumbags involved make every effort to get her back. Gilbey clearly has far greater time for the stunts and the action than the characters - it's difficult to work out exactly what their relationships are, but by the time the killings start you'll be on the edge of your seat enjoying the ride and not probing too deeply into their inner workings.

The opening climbing sequence is every bit as teeth-grittingly tense as the one in "Mission Impossible 2", and from there the pace doesn't really let up until the rather simple plot reveals itself.

Some of the plot devices are slightly ridiculous, and you may have to suspend disbelief occasionally, but that's a small price to pay. It's a shame we don't get to spend more time on the mountains, as that's where the film's at full strength, but even later you'll probably have a high old time with this superior, exciting flick.