Furthur Films,
Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Ronny Cox
Ben (Jeremy Irvine) is a nice young man. He’s recently graduated from High School and is wondering what to do with his life. He lives in a remote area of the Mojave Desert, and he makes a few extra bucks guiding big game hunters around the desert for their adventures. But Ben’s girlfriend is off for college and Ben is not sure how to deal with the separation. He has no money for school and no idea what will become of him other than a life of poverty like his childhood has been. When a very wealthy CEO, Madec (Michael Douglas) arrives and asks for Ben to guide him into the desert to find and kill a big horn sheep for his collection, Ben reluctantly agrees. But when Madec accidentally kills an old local prospector, his first thought is to offer Ben a solution to all his problems. But then, a change of hearts sets them out on a cat and mouse game across the desert that will be life or death for Ben. How good is he really at survival in the desert?
This film hit me as a real surprise. I had never heard anything about it, and yet it was a very interesting story. Michael Douglas was an excellent choice as the arrogant rich bastard who is so used to getting everything his way at any cost, you really learn to hate this guy. Jeremy Irvine, on the other hand, as Ben, is a really good guy, but you wish he wasn’t so wishy washy and easy to control. He doesn’t like conflict, and though he’s a good guy, he lets this rich guy walk all over him. This is basically a two person story. Of course the desert itself is a character of it’s own, and I can’t imagine being stuck out there with no supplies and no way to make it back. The intensity of this story is amazing, and the interaction between these two is very well shown. The points of view and the desert scenery is really fantastic. This is a survival film, first and foremost, and as such, it’s quite suspenseful. Hitchcock like in it’s plot, things pile up against Ben one after another until you can’t help but wonder if it’s possible for him to pull out of this. The story is quick paced, very exciting, and extremely well filmed. This is definitely a hidden gem of a movie that caught me very much off guard. I enjoyed it, and if you in the mood for a thriller, I would recommend you seek this one out.
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