Happy Tuesday Horror Fans! Today I have a treat for those of us who can't get enough of unsolved mysteries. I watched Devil’s Pass and it was a great combination of found footage and mystery that takes place across an isolated winter pass. This film follows a group of college students who hope to follow in the footsteps of the Dyatlov pass explorers and possibly solve the mystery of what happened to them.
The film follows 5 students from the University of Oregon (my alma mater) who are getting ready to travel to Russia to hike the infamous Dyatlov Pass trail. They hope to discover something on their journey that could further explain what happened to the hikers and their mysterious deaths. The story is told through the documentary equipment that the students brought with them for a school project.
If you are unfamiliar with the Dyatlov Pass incident, it took place in February 1959 when 9 hikers were found dead in the Ural Mountains. It is suspected that sometimes during the night of February 1st, the hikers cut their way out of their tents and fled the camp without proper clothing or shoes, in sub-zero temperatures. Some of the hikers seemed to have died of hypothermia but others had severe head and chest trauma that cannot be easily explained by an animal attack or anything else.
This story has led to many conspiracy theories including government cover-ups, aliens, yetis, the list goes on. This movie gave an interesting idea into what may have happened to the ill-fated Dyatlov group. Holly (Holly King) is the main driving force behind this expedition, and even when the group starts coming across worrying circumstances she chooses to ignore them and pushes the group to keep going to the same camp area that the Dyatlov group camped in.
The film had great pacing and little moments that would lead to larger callbacks later on in the film, and I don't know about you but I LIVE for a callback. Also, it being a found footage film made the unease even more intense. The only qualm I had while watching this movie was some of the unimportant dialogue between the characters. I understand they are college students but the sex jokes got pretty old very quickly. Toward the end of the film, the camera can get pretty shaky and the lighting does have some flashing moments. So, be aware of that if those things will make you feel unwell. Overall this is a solid found footage horror film and I will be recommending it to all my friends and anyone who likes unsolved mysteries.
9 out of 10 Screams
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