Restricted Area

Director - Christopher M. Don (Witch Trails)

Starring - Paige Lindsay Betts (The Graduation Party, Restroom), Phillip Andre Botello (CollegeHumor Originals, Mermaid Down), and Ross Britz (Ozark Sharks, The Monkey's Paw)

Release Date - 2019

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "This is a dead end"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I really have fun watching and reviewing indie horror flicks.  Even if I dislike the movie I just saw I still had fun checking it out.  Seeing all the hard work and time put into a film is always evident even if I find myself disliking the final product.  Several months back I got in a few movies from ITN and Mill Creek to review.  Among them were two indie horror releases.  One was produced by my friend Henrique Couto and another was a horror in the woods flick I had never heard of prior to titled Restricted Area. Once I shared my mail on Instagram a few friends that review movies as well told me to avoid Restricted Area because it was a rough watch.  I laughed at them because I typically like what they hate.  I hate to admit it but they were right.  

     The film follows a group of dudes that just lost their jobs and decides to spend the last little bit of their income on beer to go camping in the woods.  However, they just happened to pick the woods where a religious cult is killing anyone that wonders into their wooded haven.  

     Honestly, I get excited when someone tells me a movie sucks.  That usually means that I will like it.  My tastes in movies are different than others but I tend to like the movies that are hated by the masses.  However, they were right about Restricted Area.  The film was too long, uneventful, and several things just didn't make sense.  I wanted to like it but this is one indie production I couldn't get behind.  The acting in this one is solid but the characters are hard to like.  They all lack distinctive personalities that make them stand out.  I can't blame the cast for this because they are doing the best with what they were given to work with but the characters are painfully bland and forgettable.  The story for this one has so much potential but is unable to deliver a film worth your time.  The idea of a death cult killing hikers in the woods has my name written all over it, however, it moves at a snails pace and what we got in a two hour long movie could have been cut into a much shorter run time.  The length is way too long and we get too many scenes that are rough to sit through.  If the film was more direct with the story it would have been leagues better but what we get is a slow moving film with dull characters and an ending that you can see coming from a mile away.  Also, what man loses his job and decides to go camping while his pregnant wife is at home?  Finally, the film has several deaths.  We get some blood and some decent enough effects but the viewer will be so tuned out by this point that they will not be able to truly enjoy them.  Overall, Restricted Area is a wasted attempt at an indie movie that could have been something unforgettable.  The story really does have some promise but the final product leaves a lot of room for improvement.