Black Rock

Black Rock is essentially a female twist on Deliverance, but it fails to deliver on the promise of that premise. Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell and Katie Aselton (who also directs) play childhood friends who've drifted apart, but who reunite for a girlie weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. Unfortunately, three local hunters, army vets all, have pretty much the same idea, and when a cosy campfire get-together leads to attempted rape and murder, the women are forced to turn feral to survive. Initially, the relative novelty of having a female director call the horror shots seems to pay dividends, but the film soon turns into just another "girls chased by crazies" movie, with the usual dumb dialogue. Aselton does demonstrate an assured touch in the early character-based scenes, but she lacks the same control when it comes to handling the action.