Editor's Note:
Folks, I've mentioned before that -- at one time -- I was one of those highly regarded Amazon.com Top 1,000 Reviewers. Well, the short story is Amazon.com changed their rules and dumped a great deal of its original sinners, removing all of our content from the website. As time permits, I've been combing my archives and reposting some of what I feel is entirely relevant here at SciFiHistory.Net; so here's another one I wanted to share with the readership today. Enjoy!
Folks, I've mentioned before that -- at one time -- I was one of those highly regarded Amazon.com Top 1,000 Reviewers. Well, the short story is Amazon.com changed their rules and dumped a great deal of its original sinners, removing all of our content from the website. As time permits, I've been combing my archives and reposting some of what I feel is entirely relevant here at SciFiHistory.Net; so here's another one I wanted to share with the readership today. Enjoy!
Here’s your warning, folks.
I tend to enjoy those ‘found footage films’ more than most.
I offer this disclaimer so that you understand unconditionally exactly where I’m coming from, especially given the fact that so much of the audience rejected this specific sub-genre of Horror quite a long time ago. I get it: it sometimes gets old. Real fast. Despite that fact, I still happily give many of them a spin. I’m more than happy to endorse whatever good there still could be in them, and I’m equally pleased to warn you when and if to avoid them like the plague.
That said, it is hard to find much cause for celebration in the relatively tepid Devil’s Pass. It’s a story I desperately wanted to like (but alas didn’t all that much), though if you hang around after this brief break I’m thrilled to explain why.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
I’m borrowing what I need from the back of the product packaging as it gets to the heart of the story:
“In February of 1959, nine Russian hikers ventured into a remote area of the Ural Mountains. Two weeks later, all of them were found dead. What happened is a mystery that has baffled investigators and researchers for decades. It has become known as the Dyatlov Pass incident.”
Now – from what I know – that context above references a true event. Pretty much everything the copy writers wrote is accurate and adequate for the fictional resolution that follows. There have been various explanations offered throughout the years – yes, I’m a bit of a conspiracy nut – but none of them have ever been quite convincing to say the least. This is where Devil’s Pass (aka The Devil’s Pass, aka The Dyatlov Pass Incident) stakes out fertile ground. Its ‘found footage’ narrative here is that five college students receive grant money to recreate a modern investigation into this storied event. In the film’s outset, we’re told these young scholars have all but vanished, and then the audience is “treated” to the footage that’s been discovered from their cameras (which were eventually found) edited as a feature film.
So, the problem with all of this is that … well … I really can’t say without spoiling the ending. I abhor doing that – I try to avoid it at all costs when I can – but let me offer this simply: given what the film reveals of their fate, this particular footage couldn’t possibly exist, nor would it even conceivably be available for some hacker to find … because, if it was, then the film wouldn’t even be necessary. What we learn is, ultimately, a paradox. It’s a failure of narrative logic, one that probably killed this thing from getting any respectable theatrical release, and that’s probably why it’s been unceremoniously dumped into its home video release. At best, the rest of the story here (the script is by Vikram Weet) isn’t all that interesting, much less revelatory given the exposé quality of it, and too many story elements have to be supplied as exposition from one of the main characters in order for these bits and pieces to have any meaning.
I realize this is all a bit vague, so perhaps think of it this way: imagine there was a found footage film involving Adam and Eve. Imagine that the only way Eve knew what she was supposed to do to bring about the fall of man was that she was repeatedly told by Adam’s third-wheel-friend Dave who shows up just in the knick of time to tell her. “Eve, it’s time for you to go and see the snake!” “Eve, it’s time for you to take a bite out of the Apple!” “Eve, it’s time for you to understand what you weren’t supposed to understand!” After a while, the trick would get old, not to mention almost laughable. Thus, when one character has to explain the events of Dyatlov Pass (a conspiracy) by involving what may or may not have gone down with The Philadelphia Experiment (another completely unrelated conspiracy), I did catch myself laughing.
Remember: I freely admitted loving conspiracies. And found footage films. I just hate to see both of them handled so ineptly.
Also, our lead actress? Holly Goss? She plays Holly King. FYI: she can’t act. I’d hate to think this was the result of a casting couch decision, but, given her limited range? My mind can’t help but wonder.
Still, Devil’s Pass is not without a handful of successful storytelling moments.
It has a few nice twists, and there’s some pleasant enough cinematography in here, so much so that one can easily tell this wasn’t some found camcorder adventure pieced together by amateurs with a camera. The bottom line is that the good stuff is far too spread out and watered down – with so much gibberish sprinkled in between – that the sequences wind up with too little tension. Once the real scary stuff starts, it’s easy to remember that “it’s just a movie” and, inevitably, forget about it.
Devil’s Pass (2013) is produced by IFC Midnight, Aldamisa Entertainment, Non-Stop Productions, and a few others (feel free to consult IMDB if you’re all that interested). DVD distribution is being handled by MPI Media Group. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I’ll still say that the film is smartly put together, with some terrific sight, sound, and effects work to bring it all to life. As for the special features? Kudos to IFC for getting a release’s special features right (as I’ve seen them miss far too often): the disc comes with a commentary by Harlin and producer Kia Jam as well as some deleted scenes, a nice making of short, and the theatrical trailer.
Alas, this one is still Hard To Recommend … but if – like me – you’re a fan of ‘found footage films’ then this one might still be worth a view. Probably only once.
At 100 minutes, Devil’s Pass (2013) is decidedly too long, especially given the narrative flaw of the conclusion and the fact that much of the camera trickery has been done before. A few of the moments have a nice X-Files-type inspiration, and I’ll always welcome that. It’s just too bad all of this couldn’t have been more fulfilling; bad acting will never save a twist-ending, no matter how stirring the direction. The once reliable Renny Harlin has really fallen off the cinematic map if this is the best he can muster.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folkst at IFC MIDNIGHT and MPI Media Group provided me with a DVD copy of Devil’s Pass (2013) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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