The Horror Show
Black Rock
by Katie Aselton
2013’s Black Rock is definitely one of those films that slipped under my radar until recently. I did a bit of research and learned that the film was written and directed by celeb married couple and The League co-stars, Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton (who also stars in the film). I learned this after I watched the film and this only thrills me more because not only am I fan of both of these actors, but I’m an enormous fan of The League and am pleased to say I’m now a fan of Black Rock.
This cat and mouse horror flick begins with best friends Sarah (Kate Bosworth) and Lou (Lake Bell) as they are heading out for a weekend camping trip to a remote island where they spent a lot of time as children. We soon find out that Sarah, unbeknownst to Lou, has invited their other childhood friend Abby (Katie Aselton) to join in on the weekend fun. Abby and Lou, who haven’t spoken in quite some time due to an indiscretion of Lou’s, agree to set their differences aside for Sarah’s sake and try to enjoy the camping trip.
The women come across some hunters and Lou happens to recognize one of them as an old classmate’s younger brother, Henry. The ladies invite the trio of men back to their campsite for some drinks and to hang out since the men don’t seem to be having any luck on their hunting trip. After some awkward conversation, we discover that the men were recently dishonorably discharged from the military for their “unorthodox” way of handling an out of control situation overseas. Abby, who at this point is three sheets to the wind, is heavily flirting with Henry and discretely invites him to join her in the woods.
In this next paragraph, there will be spoilers.
Abby and Henry begin to heat things up and when Abby realizes she doesn’t want to take things too far, Henry begins to get aggressive with her and attempts rape. In trying to defend herself, Abby smashes Henry’s head in (a bit too hard) and accidentally kills him. The rest of the group hears the commotion in the nearby woods and rushes to the scene. Henry’s buddies begin to freak out. Sarah and Lou try to comfort Abby and come to her defense when the men start to get violent. As if things weren’t bad enough, the men begin to beat the women, rendering them unconscious and tying them up back on the beach. The men plan to kill the three friends but after some pleading, and mega taunting, the women are untied and flee into the woods. This is where the deadly cat and mouse game begins as the men hunt the women down with only vengeance on their minds.
End plot spoiler.
If you did choose to read that last paragraph, I only chose to reveal that bit because the movie is slow to start off, but once the women meet up with Henry’s group, things start to pick up. From what I’ve read online, a lot of people didn’t like this movie and didn’t consider it horror. But hey, this isn’t about what some trolls on the internet or what Bloody Disgusting has to say about Black Rock, this is what I think about it. And I think it’s a well-executed thriller.
Now yes, it has its flaws. The ex-military bad guys are pretty stock, however, PTSD makes people do things that are out of the realm of what they’d normally do. The film addresses several real things that range from the petty indiscretions that can ruin friendships to rape, violence against women, murder, and PTSD.
The women shed their silly skin and come to the conclusion that the situation at hand is one that cannot be avoided, and if they don’t work together and fight back, they will die on that island. The chemistry between the actresses is brilliant and their life-long friendship is believable. While sometimes the dialogue seemed to fall flat, the writing always found a way to come back around and make up for it. There are also a few instances in which the women made ridiculous decisions that weren’t very well thought out, however, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horror movie where the main characters made the right decisions. In fact, nine times out of ten, the decisions made in horror movies are laugh out loud absurd. But hey! That’s what makes horror, no?
I was pleased with the ending and overall extremely pleased with the film. I was especially impressed by Katie Aselton’s performance as I have only ever seen her in comedic roles and I think she really should be in darker films like this, she has a knack for it.
I really wish more people were aware of what an awesome film this was and hopefully this review will help spread the word. Watch Black Rock, you might be just as impressed as I was.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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