Black Rock

Cast of Characters:
Abby - Katie Aselton
Lou - Lake Bell
Sarah - Kate Bosworth
Henry - Will Bouvier
Derek - Jay Paulson
Alex - Anslem Richardson

Director - Katie Aselton
Screenplay - Mark Duplass
Rated R for some strong violence, pervasive language, sexual references and brief graphic nudity

      Horror/Suspense films set in the woods have had their dead horse beaten so many times, Lionsgate released a clever parody of the genre recently titled The Cabin in the Woods. In the winter of 2012, LD Entertainment released Black Rock at the Sundance Film Festival. Now in the spring/summer of 2013 it is finally being released nationwide.

      SPOILER ALERT: The following plot summary does contain a necessary spoiler, so you've been forewarned. Wanting to mend the divide between two of her childhood friends, Sarah (Kate Bosworth) has invited Abby (Katie Aselton) Louise aka "Lou" (Lake Bell) to a remote island they used to camp at as kids. Once at the island, they run into three hunters, Derek (Jay Paulson), Alex (Anslem Richardson), and Henry (Will Bouvier), the latter of which the three girls remember from elementary school.

      While all together for a bonfire, the three men tell the girls that they recently returned from deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. While this is going on, Abby - about three sheets to the wind at the moment - runs off with Henry into the woods to have sex. Midway through the deed, she changes her mind, which leads to Henry forcing himself on her. Fearing for her life, Abby accidentally kills Henry. Upon discovering that their friend has been killed, Derek and Alex try to track down the girls in order to kill them.

      While this film technically does belong in a genre that has gotten more than long in the tooth, Black Rock is a refreshingly effective thriller bolstered by three strong female lead performances. What differentiates this film from the many other trite and cliche thrillers of the same nature we tend to get nowadays is the realistic approach the filmmakers take in terms of the characters and the story. The dialogue and chemistry between star/director Aselton, Bell and Bosworth is never better and yes, both Aselton and Bell may strip down nude (Wow, in a thriller set in the woods?), but you'll come to find their reason for doing so is very legitimate. Jay Paulson spares us from having to sit through any over the top tirade speeches we tend to get from the cardboard cutout villains and is genuinely chilling. We also get some truly effective lighting and photography from cinematographer Hillary Spera with a final film shot that's perfect.

      At just around eighty minutes, Black Rock never carries on longer than it needs to. Credit both director Katie Aselton and screenwriter Mark Duplass (Katie's husband and also costar on the underrated TV show The League) for keeping this film short, simple, and to the point. Aselton shows a lot of potential as a director and combined with Duplass's sharp script, what could've been just another worn down, tired out, run of the mill thriller proves to be the exact opposite. I give Black Rock a B+ (★★★½).