BLACK ROCK

Sarah (Kate Bosworth) drives along with her best pal Louise (Lake Bell), taking them to a docking yard where she's hired a small boat so they can sail out to the minute island just off Maine that they used to visit as teenagers.

Upon their arrival at the boat, they're met by their old friend Abby (Katie Aselton). Louise and Abby are furious: neither knew Sarah had invited the other one along. After initially joking that she'd done it because she has cancer (!), she comes clean and admits that she's brought the old crew back together in a bid to put the past behind them.

While sailing out to their old haunt, a remote and isolated island which really does look idyllic/boring dependent upon your point of view, we learn that Louise fucked one of Abby's boyfriends several years earlier - and has never apologised. As a mediator, it must be said that Sarah is pretty crap.

So things are less than ideal as this threesome settle into the island for a few days of camping and reliving their past on a barren beach. Eventually, Abby and Louise do manage to remain civil whilst in Sarah's optimistic company - albeit, the tension is never far from the surface.

Perhaps their unconventional vacation appears to be looking up when three men appear. Henry (Will Bouvier) - who the girls recognise as being the younger brother of someone they went to school with - is flanked by his old Army buddies, the socially awkward pairing of Derek (Jay Paulsen) and Alex (Anslem Richardson).

Abby, unhappily married - not the guy who betrayed her with Louise - and a hopeless flirt, invites the guys to share a few drinks with her pals. As darkness falls, all seems to be going well. Henry's enjoying chatting with the ladies, they're having fun poking gentle fun at him and his quiet pals ... But Abby's getting a little too suggestive in Henry's ear for her friends' liking.

Eventually Abby takes off into the neighbouring woods and Henry follows, clearly on a promise. What happens shortly afterwards results in a tragic mishap that enrages Henry's comrades and puts our three gals in a position where they must literally run - and hide - for their lives.

BLACK ROCK begins as a buddy drama, albeit a subverted one thanks to the underlying problem shared between Abby and Louise. During its second act, the gear changes from neutral to first and we're thrown into the counter-culture tensions of DELIVERANCE etc: Sarah and her friends are now city folk; their old acquaintance Henry and his cohorts are socially retarded in comparison, to the point of justified open ridicule.

By the time we hit the final half of this 80-odd minute film, BLACK ROCK shifts into the survivalist genre - and, unfortunately, is at its least interesting when it's going all-out to thrill its viewer.

Despite attractive photography, professional editing and snappy dialogue, it seems that writer-director Katie Aselton can't elicit sympathy for her fundamentally unlikeable protagonists. No amount of 'Lilt advert' type beauty can detract from such a shortcoming.

Performances are admittedly very good, especially from the women. Aselton is convincing as the unreliable sop who unwittingly instigates a total nightmare. But, at the same time, there's nothing to make you root for these women to get the better of their brutish male pursuers. The inevitable scene where Abby and Louise finally make amends, post-trauma, could've been the moment where the audience get on side. But, no. Even the usually reliable Bosworth comes across as rather flat and inconsequential.

Violence is restrained, as is suspense. Worst of all, there are no surprises. And when the film ends, it's simply over. There's nothing to ruminate over, not a thing to discuss with fellow viewers. You'll go to bed, wake up the following morning and spend several minutes trying to remember what film it was you watched the previous evening.

BLACK ROCK isn't a bad film per se. It's something possibly worse: nondescript.

Metrodome's disc is difficult to assess for review purposes. They sent a very basic DVD-R with no menus or extras, which was water-marked throughout.

For what it's worth, the 16x9 presentation was very strong and sharp with nice colours and deep blacks, despite occasional blow-out during sunnier scenes.

The English 2.0 audio was also reliable, offering a clean and clear playback throughout.

BLACK ROCK isn't likely to carve itself a permanent place in your memory. But, if you're of a particularly forgiving nature or have a partner who only agrees to indulge your genre fixation when you have something 'light' to offer, you may find it passes a rainy evening ...

Review by Stuart Willis