Review of Retreat (2011) by Dillinger P — 30 Dec 2013

Thrilling, yet incredibly bleak. Despite an interesting concept and some good performances on the part of the cast, Retreat is a thriller that starts out dreary, and ends the same way. Plus, the reveal at the end of the film treats the audience like they hadn't been paying attention the whole time. There's not much fun to be had here.

The Good: Jamie Bell - I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Jamie Bell's performance in this film. I don't know if I've ever seen him in much before, but he did a spectacular job as the possible villain/possible hero in the film. You were never sure you could trust him, but one thing was sure, you never wanted to be alone with him. He had a sleazy and creepy quality about him that made you feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Thrilling - The one thing the film does really well is creating moments of dramatic tension. Whether it's a scene of dialogue between two characters or whether it's when Murphy's character tries to remove a gun from Bell's unconscious soldier, director Carl Tibbets knows how to keep the tension tight.

The Bad: The tone - As I've already stated, this film is overwhelmingly bleak. Even in the first act of the film, there's nothing to love about these characters, no scene that gives you a reason to want to fight for these characters. You get the feeling they're going to fall apart with or without the catalyst introduced in the second act. Even the lighting in the film is incredibly bleak, and the color pallette is pretty muted. For a thriller to be truly affecting there should be some moment of hope, something worth fighting for.

The twist - When the reveal (or should I say many reveals) at the end of the film occurs, my mind began poking so many holes in what had previously happened, that I felt like the creators didn't even consider that I might be carefully watching the film. None of it makes a whole lot of sense, and just feels like the director is just trying to throw you off guard.

The Smugly (Movie snob nitpicks): Sexual assualt - Why does every "end of the world" type thriller have to have some fear of impending sexual assault. It doesn't make much sense within the context of the film, especially at the end of the film in hindsight. It just struck me wrong.