Misunderstood...

Rating: 7/10 (29 October 2001)

I totally skipped this two years ago when it first came out, based on the (first) super positive buzz and (second) on the following super negative buzz. Anything that's so hyper-exposed is something I generally don't have interest in.
SO, when I caught the flick on the idiot box the other night, I was genuinely surprised at how effective the film was at fulfilling it's relatively modest goals with so little in the way of standard movie making "stuff"...like props, sets, a script, FX, decent sound; really, like the stuff you get with even a modest budget.
Understanding that the film had a 20G budget and was basically made by the three actors themselves with no script (in fact nothing but their backpacks and film and camping gear), I believe the performances and gradual and effective building of suspense was remarkable. None of the characters is particularly likeable, but they're also not in any way two-dimensional or unbelievable. They're real people, an effect of the film being largely ad-libbed along the way, with a minimum of guidance by the producers in the form of notes left at the campsite every morning.
Sure there was stuff in the performances that didn't quite hit the mark (I would give an example but don't want to be accused of "spoiling"), but those that focus on the imperfections are missing the point: this is a film that makes a goal of examining our most basic, animal fears; the frehman year of college ghost stories or the "monsters in the closet" that we've all at one time or another experienced and had some kind of reaction to. This is a terrific "bump in the night" film that is most remarkable for what it achieves without the aid of any kind movie magic; it is creativity personified.