Netflix rental on July 23rd. This British film saw it's US release in March of 2016. I had never heard of it (not that I was scoured the Spring releases all that thoroughly) and it seemed like a good choice for a Saturday night while my wife was attending a bachelorette party.
The picture takes place in the French countryside when we join Jack, a British citizen hitchhiking his way around, trying to get back to England. On the road he meets up with Veronique and the two decide to travel together. Since Veronique is a young, hot, sultry French chick, Jack pretty much falls for from the get go.
Exactly how she appeared just before the obligatory "let's go skinny dipping in the pond" scene.
Despite the fact there is a legend about the bodies of hitchhikers turning up in the area, the two forgo common sense and accept a ride from an eccentric gentleman, Grizard. Grizard suddenly decides that he can't go as far as they wanted but offers to put them up for th night at his home. Jack says sure but Veronique thinks its a bad idea. Once they see the guy's large home Jack reassures Veronique that things will be ok. They meet Grizard's wife Mary and have a nice dinner. Then things start to get weird.
Jack and Veronique feel that there's something "off" about the couple but still decide to spend the night. In the morning, Jack is informed that Veronique left during the night. Which is weird because Jack thought that Veronique had a thing for him. Jack goes after Veronique and winds up in the clutches of a sinister loner and things look grim. Jack manages to escape and makes it back to Grizard's where he rescuces Veronique. The young couple escape, survive a unsurvivable car wreck and have the final showdown in a field. Then there's a big reveal.
The film is written and directed by Abner Pastoll and has solid performances from Andrew Simpson (Jack), Joséphine de La Baume (Veronique), Frédéric Pierrot (Grizard) and Barbara Crampton (Mary). The picture is minimalistic and has some riveting moments (I didn't see the big reveal coming, nice job!). However, it takes a while for the tension to get ratcheted up and it didn't really get all that ratcheted up for me. Plus, once Jack and Veronique link up, you can see where the film is going. All in all this was a decent film for a Saturday night Netflix viewing. Definitely not awful but nothing fantastic either. It was a ice little thriller worth checking out if you're interested in this sort of thing.
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