Hostile (2018)

I love a good post apocalyptic thriller so I was looking forward to this one. It starts really well, and then quickly becomes odd, then frustrating, then just plain eye-roll worthy. The entire movie jumps back and forward between timelines but does so in a way that feels very jarring. The entire relationship between the two leads felt unrealistic... so many plot points and character decisions just became too much of a stretch for me. I can suspend my disbelief to a certain point but c'mon guys... I really wanted to like it, it was shot beautifully, the creatures were genuinely creepy, and it had potential. Points for originality, I definitely wasn't expecting what I saw (though I did call the 'twist' about 20 minutes before it happened). The message that the writer tries to leave us with is a nice one but feels out of place in this genre and left me with too many questions.

I admit that this film's horror/sci-fi genre is not one that interests me these days and the only reason I watched this movie was because Gregory Fittoussi was in it. (He won an award for this role). Living in UK this did not come to local cinema's so I had to wait till released in streaming media. Genre has more appeal to my husband so we watched together. Juliette is trying to find food for group in post-apocalyptic American, landscape is arid and desserted. Due to the presence of mutant humaniods she has to return to base before dusk. A photo of her with a man is stuck to the visor in her vechicle. The film osocilates between Juliette's present dilemma of returning to base and her pre-apocalyptic, past relationship with Jack, a rich French art gallery owner living in New York. Watching it, I became involved with Juliette's dilemma and with her relationship with Jack, who looked passed the ugliness of Juliette's life to see the beauty within her. Without spoiling it, I just want to say the ending haunted me long after the credits had rolled. My husband also enjoyed this movie terming it 'diffierent' which in his case means 'not formulaic.' This movie deserved a wider release I hope it now finds it.

A play on words taken from a quote from the film, couldn't be more appropriate for my review as it forms the basis of what the film is about..We have Juliette, played by Brittany Ashworth, who is absolutely beautiful, but hides a very troubled life.Then we have Jack, played by Grégory Fitoussi who is an all together wealthy, stable man who has an eye for seeing the beauty within. He is naturally curious when he stumbles upon Juliette who has clearly come into his art gallery to avoid the rain and steal some free food! lol He is nevertheless captivated by her and so the story begins..This film is very enjoyable and genuinely keeps you interested and entertained throughout.. The film has a warmth and innocence to it that the writer conveys without making it overly complicated, despite Juliettes troubled life and grim realities of living in a post apocalyptic world.The cast give brilliant performances and the story flows seamlessly between the past and the present. Its a lovely story and directed brilliantly by the writer and a cast you just can't help falling in love with! lol This film is not about zombies or an apocalypse. Rather, this story, is about LOVE.. About a man who falls in love with a girl, a girl who he wants to help, rescue, look after and live happily ever after with.. Nothing wrong with that.. right?The apocalypse. why have it? well it could be a metaphor in the way that, these days, for a guy and a girl to find each other and live happily ever after, there almost has to be lots of 'end of the world' dramas! Not to mention put up with todays zombies or as we call them "trolls" which everyone seems to have turned into these days! So maybe life today is apocalyptic? :)Well done Mathieu on the brilliant script and execution and well done to the stunning cast for their performances.. Watch out for Brittany, she is a megastar in the making.. I just hope that Hollywood does not ruin this lovely actress or steal her innocence:)Thank you :)

The apocalypse happened. "How" morphs itself into "What Now?"Behind a plethora of sweeping landscape shots depicting the years following an apocalyptic event, Mathieu Turi's feature debut Hostile gives us the story of Juliette (Brittany Ashworth) and her struggle to survive.Sounds cliche, right?Wrong. It took a while to digest this film as initially I had written it off as "just another post-apocalyptic film." Let's face it, there are so many in this genre.The film centers around Juliette and her struggle to stay alive following a debilitating car accident while on a scavenging mission. She must not only survive the barrenness of nature while badly injured, but a threat far more sinister.We're offered abbreviated glimpses into her life pre-apocalypse as she longs for the days before everything went sideways. During these sequences is when Ashworth really gives a believable depth to her character. There's a palpable honesty in her interaction with the people in her previous life's sphere - most notably the sophisticated and charming Jack (Gregory Fitoussi).Juliette's memories throughout the film not only to provide a contrast to her current situation but also provide a good break in the inescapable dread of being surrounded by unknown dangers.The tension in the film is abundant and while the idea of the damsel Juliette needing to be saved borders on tongue-in-cheek, the climactic confrontation is equal parts tense and emotional.