Backcountry

Alex (Jeff Roop), a seasoned outdoorsman, persuades his corporate lawyer other half Jenn (Missy Peregrym) to let him take her on a camping trip deep into the Canadian wilderness to one of his favourite spots, the secluded Blackfoot Trail. On the first night of their trip the couple have an unsettling encounter with with Brad (Eric Balfour), a strange alpha male with eyes for Jenn who may or may not be following them.

Wanting to get away from Brad, Alex pushes on towards where he thinks the Blackfoot Trail is, but he’s forgotten exactly where it is and, naturally, refuses to admit this until three days later when they run out of path. Hopelessly lost, without food or water, they struggle to find their way back to civilisation, pushing their already fragile relationship to breaking point. Just when they think things can’t get any worse, they discover that they’ve wandered into the territory of a bear. Unsurprising, hilarity does not ensue.

Why we’re looking forward to this: Though we’re not massive fans of The Blair Witch Project, if you were to strip all of the supernatural elements from it and just focus on the scenes with the three kids lost in the woods then it would be a very tense survival (or not) movie. Take this concept, add a dash of Stephen King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, one of our favourite tales about a girl lost in the woods where a bear may or may not be eyeing her up for lunch, and you’ve got Backcountry.

It may not be all out horror, but we’re hoping that the writer and director Adam MacDonald cranks the suspense and tension up high enough to keep us on the edge of our seat. There’s certainly enough scope to do so, what with a potentially dangerous strange guy lurking somewhere (and Eric Balfour sure does look the part), and a definitely dangerous bear on the couple’s heels, so we’re more than willing to tag along on this hike into the Canuck wilderness.

Backcountry was actually filmed last year and is awaiting a release date, but our fingers are crossed…

Burying The Ex

Max (Anton Yelchin), is an all-round nice guy, and Evelyn (Ashley Greene) is his overbearing but incredibly beautiful girlfriend, when their relationship takes a nosedive after they decide to move in together, Evelyn turns out to be a controlling, manipulative nightmare. Max knows it’s time to call it quits, but there’s just one problem: he’s terrified of breaking up with her. Fate steps in when Evelyn is involved in a freak accident and dies, leaving Max single and ready to mingle. Max eventually meets Olivia (Alexandra Daddario), a cute and spirited girl who just might be his soul mate, only to learn that Evelyn has risen from her grave and is determined to get her boyfriend back…even if that means turning him into one of the undead

Why we’re looking forward to this: Four words. Directed. By. Joe. Dante. After playing in the TV sandbox on shows like Hawaii Five-O, Witches of East End and Splatter for the last few years, we’re looking forward to Dante’s first feature since 2009’s entertaining The Hole.

Yes, you might argue that we don’t need another rom-zom-com and that the synopsis sounds like a retread of the recent Life After Beth, but as far as we’re concerned whenever the director of Gremlins steps up to the feature film plate, we’ll be there with popcorn!

Burying The Ex is awaiting a UK release date but should hopefully be with us in early 2015.

RICHARD COSGROVE