A Lonely Place to Die Feature Trailer (2011)

Very few current horror films have the courage to completely jettison all stereotypes and fear-building formulas. A Lonely Place to Die is my favorite thriller of the year, mainly because it leans on no crutches. The movie features exactly zero of the following: sex-driven teenage morons, one-dimensional villains, unnecessarily shaky camerawork and/or CGI horseshit. All these unfortunate modern day standards are instead thrust aside for an intelligent, vicious, believable, beautifully shot and – most importantly – rewardingly unique take on the survival genre.

Five vacationers find their Scottish mountain getaway interrupted by a very unexpected discovery: a little girl locked in a subterranean prison cell a hundred miles from anywhere. The semi-feral child speaks only Russian and attacks anyone who touches her. Soon the group find themselves stalked by the girl’s heavily armed captors, two of the most convincingly heartless villains in cinematic history. The heart attack-inducing cat-and-mouse chase that follows will take them down raging rivers, three-mile cliffs and into the heart of a city on fire. Gun-toting maniacs join the fray on both sides, sending skull bits and splintered bone flying across every inch of gorgeous, lawless rural Scotland.

Terror veteran Melissa George handles her lead role incredibly well, playing a strong, resourceful woman who’s admittedly as prone to panic as you or I would be if caught in the crosshairs. But one of the greatest aspects of the film is the fact that every character – young or old, good or bad – is absolutely authentic. Unlike most action/horror epics, A Lonely Place to Die fearlessly hinges on its actors, and the gamble pays off big. It’s quite possible that you haven't felt so emotionally invested in a genre film in decades. If you don't tear the stuffing out of your armrests, you're not watching this movie right.