BACKCOUNTRY [2014]

The deep of the Eastern Canadian woods quite literally becomes bad news bears for a couple of tent-pitching hikers in director Adam MacDonald's thriller, Backcountry.
There's a bear.  He's hungry.  Conveniently there's a couple of lost campers who are probably pretty tasty.  Put the two together and you get a bare-boned story that might actually work.
What should be quite laughable is actually effective, thanks to the script never going anywhere ridiculously implausible, a hefty build-up of tension and lead actresses Missy Peregrym pulling off a believable performance.
It's a what you see is what you get sort of film that is light on substance but some clever editing, atmospheric photography, restraint on it's script and brisk-pace make it all the more enjoyable in a fluffy sort of way.

3 pan-fried trout out of 5

ANTIVIRAL [2012]

Director Brandon Cronenberg follows in his daddy's footsteps with stories about people doing weird shit to their bodies in the unsettling sci-fi thriller Antiviral.
Taking place in a world where people pay to get injected with their favorite celebrity's viruses and illnesses, the film is stark, cold and chills you to the bone with its hospital like color palate and intense ick factor.  Technically it's a work of art with its beautiful framing, precise lighting and delicate direction, however as a story it left me emotionally unattached with its coldness and wooden characters.
It's a nice directorial debut and leaves me eager to see Cronenberg's future films as he matures as a film-maker.

3 celebrity cells out of 5