A couple escaping to a Provincial Park for hiking and camping—played by Jeff Roop and Missy Peregrym—become lost and face dangers both from wildlife and people while deep in the wilderness. Eric Balfour portrays an unreliable Irish guide. “Backcountry” (2014), written and directed by Adam MacDonald, draws inspiration from a real incident involving Mark Jordan & Jacqueline Perry, who encountered a bear known to prey on humans at Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, near Chapleau, Ontario, in 2005. Missy Peregrym evokes Hilary Swank, while Jeff Roop resembles a younger, less eccentric Ray Romano. The movie feels like an inexpensive combination of survival stories such as “Deliverance” (1972) and “The Edge” (1997). If you’re seeking this kind of film, "Backcountry" is quite effective for an independent production. At times the main actors' performances are uncertain, but overall they are adequate and occasionally impressive. The attack scenes and gore effects are notably well-executed considering the limited budget. Some viewers have expressed reservations about the introduction of a shady woodsman early on, however it adheres to standard storytelling conventions in suspense films: when the pace lags, introduce some kind of conflict, especially at the beginning—to keep an audience engaged, provide something early on like trouble, fear, or violence. I personally found myself uninterested until Brad (the guide) appeared, which eventually results in a confrontation. This fairly intense sequence captured my attention and made me want to continue watching; this is likely why the writer/director included it, as well as testing Alex’s abilities and serving as a distraction. The film has a running time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and was filmed at Restoule Provincial Park and Powassan, Ontario (just south of North Bay), in addition to Caddy Lake, Manitoba; I suspect the urban scenes were shot in Toronto. GRADE: B/B-

Source on TMDB