Review of Turistas (2006) by Kieran M — 04 Apr 2008

It's better than Wolf Creek, and far better than Hostel, so it's alright. I think the characters are agreeable and sympathetic. The setting is...well it looks like beautiful Brazil should look.

Of course this concept is tired, so the movie has to be tight or satirical; this movie is tightly directed to raise the tension, but the final sequence kills the potential. I understand that aquatic camera operators need employment (I'd like to do that job myself) but setting the final act in the underwater caves was a huge mistake.

The caves are nice for showing our protagonists "bond" with their would be captor and a logical place for the film to conclude, but this is far too drawn out. The "caves" scene should have ended once they were spotted in the "secret place" and had to escape.