The Canyon

Formulaic, with some credible acting
In "Open Water" (2003), a pair of scuba divers (who were also a couple) got stranded in the middle of the ocean and found themselves imperiled by a school of sharks. Well, in "The Canyon", we have a newly-married couple stranded somewhere in the Grand Canyon and hunted by wolves. It's basically a survival-type drama with some twists, but on the whole is quite formulaic. What makes this watchable (though more as a rental and not a purchase) is the acting, which I thought was quite alright, considering this is a low-budget indie flick. The story centers around Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) who are a pair of newly-weds and eager for adventure (well, Nick mainly) - Nick's idea of a perfect honeymoon is to explore the deepest recesses of the canyon via muleback. Unfortunately, Nick did not have the foresight to apply for a permit for their excursion and the pair decide to take on the proffered services of a grizzled old guide Henry (Will Patton).

Will Patton...

Wolves Will Be Wolves
This film would fit nicely in a gift set with "Open Water" and "Black Water". Like its less-than-warm-blooded brethren, "The Canyon" finds an attractive couple trapped in raw wilderness, ultimately pit face to face with Mother Nature and her drones - in this case, wolves. There is stunning cinematography, beautiful scenery, and a fair level of intensity on display here, which makes the so-so script worthwhile. If you're the kind of person who enjoys man-against-nature pictures, "Canyon" is a perfect fit for a rainy afternoon. Even if one isn't a lover of eco-horror, the wolves used are put on full display, and they are breathtaking to behold. No CGI here.... thank the films Gods for that one. All in all, this is an entertaining thriller with more to admire than to roll the eyes at, and even when the eyes are rolling, they're rolling over a gorgeous surface.

cliche but nice
The canyon is a fairly predictable cliche of a film but very nicely done in terms of photography and acting. I have to say that this is just not my kind of film and so it is hard to judge otherwise. If you like films about people who make bad decisions and then get lost in nature, then you may well enjoy this one. The disasters are kept to a few, which is good because that sort of thing can be overdone. No landslides, flash floods, indian attacks, quicksand, or going totally mad. Nice level of distress. The few disasters were however terrible but sort of predictable and some people may groan.I suggest suspending disbelief, because it is worth it to keep watching and focus on the tensions between the newlyweds and the scenery.

The"making of" special feature discovering the canyon was pretty nice because they took their movie seriously and mentioned issues working with the wolves and so on and we don't often see this in special features. I wish they had left a couple of...

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