Numb (2015)
Husband and wife, Will and Dawn, are in financial crisis after learning the job Will was counting on to salvage their financial future has disappeared in the midst of a market collapse. They set out to drive home on the winter highway back to their city, and in a moment of altruism, pick up siblings Lee and Cheryl, a pair of hitchhikers on their way to start a new life. In the midst of the night they nearly collide with an old man wandering on the snowy highway, hyperthermic and horrifically frostbitten. While searching for his ID they discover a wad of cash, a hand drawn map with GPS coordinates, and a single gold coin inside his coat. Will and Dawn reluctantly go along with Lee’s plan to report him to the police as a John Doe and pocket the money. In an attempt to save their financial struggles, all four venture off into the snowy wilderness in search of the buried gold.
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the audience applauded
Good start, but then it gets ruined
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Briefly, the movie is way better than I expected. Not a masterpiece, nothing special but worth watching. I have no deeper analysis. Period.Except one 'detail' bothering me. I know it bothers very few of us, so please don't take me too seriously, just because I could not take the movie seriously. I happen to be a Finn, who has survived in frosty forests for the most of his miserable life.The sub-zero conditions are hilariously unrealistic in the movie. There has to be a reason for this, right? There must be cold somewhere in Canada in winters. Maybe the production was late or something. I don't mean movies should always be realistic, but come on...It is obviously very cold season, if not exceptionally cold winter. Characters get severe injuries of cold. Kind of damage not being possible without roughly -20°C (or -4°F) and strong wind. But as there is seemingly not that windy, it would be -40°C (or the same in °F) if not even under that. Without proper clothing you go NUMB in that environment. Then it knocks you out for good. Quickly. Before you become a half-frozen zombie.Eyebrows seem to collect heavy ice layer, but breathing is hardly visible in most of the scenes. The ice layer usually builds up of moisture of your own breathe. Snowing looks like a rain. Because it is so warm it is practically raining.The structure of snow around looks like it is wet and melting. Winterly rays of sun are too weak to have any effect on ice. The forest looks more like how it could look like in June in Finland... It must be around +5...10°C.In Finland we call that summer. We go out and celebrate those rare moments of warmth, preferably naked. Well... just being honest, just paid attention to these facts, relevant or not :)
Often my friends call me "snob" when it comes to movies...I guess I am. This movie makes the ABC movie of the week look like "Classics" Last year I had my students make short films. I gave them a month. More than a few were far superior to this film.1. Picking up 2 random folks on a highway is always a dangerous thing to do but I wondered...where did they come from? I mean, did they see a broken down car somewhere? Maybe it's a Canada thing..."sure hop in" 2. I get that they weren't aware of the terrain (the cliff) BUT I would have thought they'd at least prepare...you know, food, maybe use some of the money they got off the old man to buy GLOVES, HATS etc.3. The entire story was just ridic. The back story with the lost job. What was that? I just can't go on.
I was so pleased to be able to take in this great new Canadian film! It is well worth seeing this one on the big screen. The screen writing was mature and provided really thoughtful character development. It also paid careful attention to the realities of winter wilderness survival . What could have been a slow moving walk in the snow filled woods instead steadily built tension between characters and drew the viewer in to the increasingly apparent ethical dilemmas of the journey. The cinematography was excellent. It captured both the serene beauty of the Canadian back country and the bone chilling realities of its wilderness. The film offers edge of the seat tension with a minimum of gore or violence! The cast put in great performances. You may want to take along some mitts and a toque to the theatre as you may feel chilled to the bone by the end. Highly recommended!
Really enjoyed this movie on so many levels: I felt the four lead actors were well cast and gave realistic and nuanced performances. The screenplay painted four believable characters struggling within themselves and the elements they had to confront. The BC wilderness setting was captured well by the cinematographer and supported by a fantastic musical score. Jason Goode's direction had wonderful pacing and the movie's story line hooked you into the growing dilemmas each character was experiencing. Finally, the excellent special effects (especially the makeup) made the audience feel like you were there struggling with them. Go see this movie. You'll enjoy the entire experience.