Solo (2013)

Young girl has a past trauma to deal with, so she applies to be a camp counsellor. Nice. But to pass the entry exam for being said counsellor she has to spend two nights alone on a remote island, thus proving her metal. Amazingly she's not as alone as is meant to be...OK! The premise is weak, both in terms of logic and redundancy of formula, but that isn't a problem for those after a good compact scare picture to pass the time of day with. The trouble with Alone (AKA: Solo) is that it's just too dull for its own good, resorting to telegraphed boo-jumps at time scripted junctures. After a while you kind of find yourself wishing it had something more to offer on a psychological basis. The reveal of the threat is tedious, the execution of the last quarter equally so, but the performance of young Annie Clark in the lead and some efficient chill moments makes this just about passable as a time waster. 5/10

This movie is exactly what you expect- a young girl alone on an island and creepy things happen as she has to survive for a few days to prove that she has what it takes to be a camp counselor. But, saying that, it is not a bad effort. I have seen hundreds of thriller/horror movies in my time and this is not as bad as others would tell you. Yes, some of it has been recycled and yes, there isn't much new or original here but there was something about the lead character, Gillian that I liked and I was appalled at some people commenting on her body size. What does that have to do with anything? It is a decent effort. It won't scare the life out of you, but there are some good twists and turns that you might be able to see coming. I am not going to give anything away, but I would give it a chance.It is worth a look.http://jigsawslair.blogspot.ie/

We've all seen it before: the summer camp; the pretty girl; the creepy island; the even creepier locals. So we all know what to expect. At least, we think we do...This clever little movie has a retro 1980s feel which sets up our expectations for a typical teen slasher flick. But 'Solo' rewards patient viewers with a more intelligent story.Instead of the traditional 'smart people doing dumb things and consequently dying' formula we get a smart heroine who does smart things and still gets caught by the bad guy through no fault of her own.The delicious Canadian actress Annie Clark stars in a role better suited to Georgie Ryder, yet succeeds in making it her own.It must be admitted that the appeal of this film is primarily found in the lingering shots of Annie's youthful figure--and believe me when I say there are plenty of them.Annie has that classic 'girl next door' look, and enjoys plenty of screen time from all the right angles.Here a slow tracking shot across her pert bottom; there a closeup of her youthful bosoms rising and falling hypnotically as she gasps for breath in a thrilling action scene. It's a glorious sight for anyone bored to tears by the endless parade of flat chested anorexic girls who tend to dominate this genre.Being a Canadian production the budget was modest (as evidenced in a number of scenes and the poor colour balance). Yet it suits the retro look of the film, so the wobbly camera-work and cut price sets (including several plastic trees and a foam rubber rock) never seem out of place.Trivia: the island itself was built by a local company and towed to the middle of Carl Jensen's private lake. It's actually two thirds smaller than it's supposed to be in the story, but the clever use of camera angles and long shots prevents viewers from realising this fact.I rate 'Solo' at 19.98 on the Haglee Scale, which converts to a solid 6/10 on IMDb.

Let me pitch you an idea, please tell me if it sounds familiar at all. Here goes: A young outcast named Gillian is desperately trying to cope with the emotional trauma of her sister's death (*cough* drowning accident *cough*). As part of her therapy for coping with the pain, she decides that she wants to be a... camp counselor. Like all new camp counselors, she first must listen to campfire tales of horror. One story in particular grabs her attention. It's about a little girl named Jason Voorhees (oops I mean Janie) who accidentally "disappeared" from the camp several decades ago. Don't worry, in order to avoid copyright issues we'll avoid using the words "drowned" and "distracted counselors" from now on. Anyway, there's this island in the lake which the girl supposedly haunts from time to time. Therefore it only makes sense that Gillian, a mentally unstable suicidal teen, is marooned on that very same island as part of her initiation. However fear not for our young heroine is never left alone at any point. She is always under the watchful eye of the resident counselor and hornbag Marty who sneaks across to the island. Like every other sexed up male character from bygone horror movies, Marty comes across with the pretense of being friendly even though it is obvious what his true intentions are. However, he doesn't get the chance to do much before the party is interrupted. It seems that Gillian and Marty aren't the only people (or things) living on the island and it doesn't take long before the real stalking begins.Clearly, the film has borrowed more than a few creative elements from the Friday the 13th series. At times, it is effective especially early in the film. However in an effort to come across as somewhat original, Solo departs from the usual slasher formula and attempts to twist the concept. Is it purely psychological or is the threat actually tangible? As far as the acting is concerned, our lead actress Annie Clark who bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer Lawrence was surprisingly able to carry the film through its short running time. Annie clearly has talent and I hope to see more feature films from her in the future. Veteran actor Daniel Kash also has a decent turn as the psychotic camp counselor although the film fails to develop his character sufficiently. Overall, the film only managed to capture my imagination and attention span for fleeting moments. If you want psychological terror in an isolated setting, I'd recommend that you watch Eden Lake instead of this.2.5/5