DEVIL’S PASS Review

Release Date: August 23, 2013 (Limited and VOD)
Director: Renny Harlin
MPAA Rating: R
Film Pulse Score: 4/10

In a world where found footage horror movies didn’t come out by the dozens, Renny Harlin’s Devil’s Pass may have been something worth discussing.  The genre-blending storyline and the true story that lays the framework for the film are interesting, however in the end there is nothing here that hasn’t been done to death in previous films of this ilk.

Harlin, who previously directed Cliffhanger, heads back to the mountains to tell this tale of a group of college kids who decide to hike through the Dyatlov Pass in Russia, where in 1959, a group of hikers mysteriously vanished and were found dead weeks later.  The interesting thing about the story is that to this day, no one knows what happened to the hikers, or how they died. 

While there are many scientific theories surrounding the deaths of these men, this film takes it to a new level of ridiculous and introduces yetis, cave-dwelling creatures, conspiracies, and a science fiction element.  These items prove to be the most interesting aspects of the film, and actually work, provided you turn your brain off while watching.

What doesn’t work is everything else in the film.  The dialogue is atrocious, feeling unnatural and heavily scripted.  The poor acting doesn’t help, and with every terrible line spoken, the suspension of disbelief is broken and you’re fully aware this is not a documentary.  Of course, there had to be numerous instances where the characters are saying things like “Are you filming this?” and “We need to show this to the world,” to justify the recording.  Lines like this are tired and played out and provide a few of the many eye-rolling moments throughout the film.

All the typical found footage tropes are present here, complete with technical and logistical inaccuracies that will immediately pull you out of the experience.  When recording something from an iPhone, you don’t see the controls on the video.  How could we hear everyone so clearly all the time even outside in a snowstorm? How was this footage recovered and edited together so well, despite what happens in the end?  These issues are rampant throughout many movies like this, and show a lack of attention to detail when it comes to making something that’s supposed to feel real.

That being said, this film would have worked much better as a straight narrative.  The true story is fascinating, and the twist in the final act is unique and unexpected.  The problem is the poor execution of the found footage detracts of the overall experience of the film itself.

Unfortunately, Devil’s Pass is nothing more than an average, and ultimately forgettable, found footage horror film.  It’s light on scares but heavy on mystery, which balances out, however the poorly written script and sub par acting prevent this from being anything but mediocre.