I saw the movie, Alive, when I was a kid. Probably not the best idea to see a film about a group of deserted plane crash victims who resort to cannibalism to survive, but it definitely made its mark. When I saw what The Grey was about, it sort of reminded me of that, just without the cannibalism. While Alive may have been shocking, The Grey is terrifying. It’s full of suspense, surprises and pure horror.
I do my best to avoid horror films because, frankly, I’m a big wimp. I can’t take a lot of suspense and the big scares. But sometimes films like The Grey sneak up and surprise you. I was thinking I was only watching a survival movie. And although it is a survival movie, I wasn’t expecting those crazy, mo-fo-ing wolves. Those wolves were frightening as they hunted a group of men that survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wild. The survivors were part of an oil drilling team and were in shock when their plane crashes. Ottway (Liam Neeson) works as a sniper who shoots down wolves when they try to attack any of the men drilling oil. When they crash near the wolves’ den, he takes the lead in helping the other men and himself protect themselves from the pack of man-eating wolves.
As I’ve mentioned before, this movie is full of suspense. It definitely kept the story moving and exciting. It honestly could’ve been a bore, but holy crap, when one of those wolves just attack someone out of nowhere… let’s just say I apologize to the moviegoers around me for jumping and screaming so much. (Seriously, this is why I hardly see horror films.) Besides the suspense and surprises, the group of survivors is pretty interesting. As the movie went along, we got to know more about each of them. It added these unexpected elements of emotion and comedy to the film. The movie isn’t completely dreary. It has these moments of lightness, which definitely adds to the element of surprise. Also, in turn, it made some of the deaths much more emotional.
*SPOILER ALERT* SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID ANGRY MAN-EATING WOLVES SPOILERS!
I was very much surprised that I found myself so sad when we got to the ending. It was a great scene and would’ve been perfect, if not for one major thing. Now, I’m going to issue a SPOILER ALERT because I can’t rightfully explain my disappointment with the ending without revealing what it is. So, really JUST SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED! —- My main problem with The Grey was its open ending. Yes, it just totally cuts off before the BIG scene. The scene that you practically waited the ENTIRE movie to see. I used to like open endings. I thought they really gave the audience a chance to think. But lately, I have seen so many movies use this storytelling device. Its frequent usage sort of ruins the profoundness for me. Also, sometimes I don’t want to think so much after a movie, I just want to know what happens. In this movie, there was so much build-up for the final fight. and we’re left with nothing, which I found to be beyond frustrating.
YOU ARE SAFE FROM THE WOLVES SPOILERS NOW
Whether or not, you read or skipped my rant on the ending, let me just suggest that you stay until after the ending credits for the film. There is a brief scene which might make you feel slightly better about the ending. I missed this scene, but luckily someone on Twitter was able to tell me about it. After hearing it, I did feel a little better about the ending, but still not completely 100% satisfied.
Whatever the case, The Grey is a great movie. It’s the scariest movie I have seen in a long time. It’s well-acted and the cast includes Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts and Frank Grillo. Neeson is kick-ass and unrelenting in this film, a perfect casting choice for an action-survival film. Of all the January releases, The Grey is surely a must-see.
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The Grey hits theaters Friday, January 27th.
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