Devil's Pass

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Devil's Pass
Starring Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Luke Albright, Ryan Hawley
Directed by Renny Harlin

Ever since she could remember, Holly (Holly Goss) has been intrigued by the mysterious Dyaltov Pass incident in the Ural Mountains, in which nine experienced adventurers died under mysterious circumstances in the late 50s.  With her filmmaker friend Jensen (Matt Stokoe), experienced hikers JP (Luke Albright) and Andy (Ryan Hawley), and audio tech Denise (Gemma Atkinson), they re-trace the steps made by the doomed hikers in hopes of discovering what really happened to them.  What they discover is far more terrifying than they could've imagined.

At first I thought this was another cheap found footage film, but as the film progressed I found myself intrigued in the journey they were undertaking.  Of course I'm also a fan of mysterious real-life events, so drawing in the Dyaltov Pass incident into the story made it even more compelling than just a group of friends going to the mountains.

A big surprise was finding out who directed the film.  It wasn't a wannabe director with a steady cam and time on his hands, but it was Renny Harlin, who directed such blockbuster classics such as "Cliffhanger" and "Die Hard 2," so he lends some serious credibility to this small film, and it was a surprisingly entertaining mystery, even if the ending was something totally unexpected, it added credence to the whole adventure and how it surprisingly tied into what happened all those decades ago.

My Rating: B+

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