the audience applauded

Great Film overall

Best movie ever!

As Good As It Gets

I had to register an account just to review Black Mountain Side and was appalled by the low rating as this is a very underappreciated movie. I'm a big fan of The Thing - it's one of my all time favorite movies. I did not have high hopes for Black Mountain Side, but approx. 20 minutes into it, I could feel it oozing vibes from The Thing. It is clear that it is this movies main source of inspiration. The cold and remote location, a team of scientists, the mysterious illnesses, an unknown enemy and the strong lack of faith in who you can trust - it all comes together to create a very atmospheric horror thriller that I will watch many times over.

For some reason I find this movie amusing and quite interesting. The buildup with the amazing north Canadian landscape backdrop is similar to that of The Thing. Both films has cold remote locations where strange things slowly begin to happen. In this film what "The being/it", is left unexplained and it's up to you to figure it out. It is not as gory as The Thing but it has some moments that made it hard for me to go to sleep the night I watched it. It has something to do with that Deer 'Thing' that's making several appearances and utters some really corny lines but nevertheless is an eerie apparition to see in the dark. The film is filled with goofs, loose ends and a lot of unanswered questions. Some actors stands out and some are not so good. But mostly they are doing a good job capturing the paranoia and cabin fever'ish mood. Stupid goofs like, "we have two weeks worth of supply and gas for the generator" Why not conserve it? no use generator even during daylight. It's "50 below outside" yet we see a clear thawing :-D What happened to the squid infested arm that was chopped off? No explanation or examinations of that arm, why? And Why was the cat sacrificed? By whom? And finally, what was the deer "thing"?! A god? An alien? A manifestation of cabin fever ? I watched this on Bluray, and it really gives the beautiful cold landscape it's own right. Can recommend this. If you watch it with low expectations you might find it has a moment or two.

I had read somewhere (it was probably the same folks that gave it 4 stars on the DVD cover?) that this was an interesting and good (4 star film) FORGET IT I very rarely spend the energy & time to review anything BAD but when it's truly BAD or just annoyingly BAD then every now & again I will address the issue...i'm a LOVER not a HATER.But this is so BORING & BAD that I just thought i'd give a heads up to anyone else thinking of picking it up (even on the cheap) or watching it on TV....DON'T.It's been stated it's similar to John Carpenter's superb classic "The Thing"!!! now what film was that reviewer watching? because this is NOTHING like that film except they try to copy a good few scenes and turn them into a yawn fest.Clearly a very cheaply mounted film with sadly nothing to redeem it except for the strangest most weird ending featuring a favourite Christmas animal :) I've reviewed over 40 films now...and many don't agree with my reviews and I don't mind but i'd be truly amazed to find one out there that disagreed with this one.Of those 40+ I have reviewed only 3 where BAD one's..."THE FOG" remake which I just wish could be erased forever! "A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD" which is the stupidest DIE HARD film they could have ever made! it didn't even feature McClain at it's heart it was his dumb son (I had to disapprove of that one!) and then "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" which like this my 4th BAD review is just so damn boring! A good percentage of you out there could turn out a better script & story than this silly twist on THE THING, which will just make you laugh sadly as you watch it, still can't believe I got through it to the end but I did and for that I deserve a GOOD drink.You'll be SORRY if you try to sit through this...Something found in the ice (never properly explained) a scientist guy arrives late to the scene just in time for the workers to walk out, cat dies, it's having an effect on the team, they go crazy, shoot & harm themselves due to the VIRUS type THING (yup that's all it is) more shots of walks into the woods and around the snowy cabin, another guy shoots himself in the face, a strange talking creature turns up (not pulling a sleigh) and the traps talked about for a few seconds in the movie gets the final guy in the END...BIG DEAL.A Cigarette Packet script & it gets a 1 from me but it's close to a 0.BLESS you 3 folks (currently, sorry if any of you were involved or took part in this film but you just gotta be HONEST)

Pleasantly surprised by this movie. Came into it with hoping of a decent movie set in a paranoid lonely environment, perhaps not completely different the 80s movie "Thing" with Curt Russel.Quite soon i discovered that there are some small similarities between the movies but it was not a ripoff but had its own thing going which i find worked well. Actors does a decent job, Not top notch quality but overall i cant complain. I did found the group a bit too big though and sometimes i mistook the characters for one another which was annoying but you came back on rail realizing who and what was going on fast after confusion hit you. Its not a perfect movie but i found the mood and vibe of the whole thing very unsettling which of course is a great quality in a horror movie. Being a HP Lovecraft fan it satisfied me taking a bit of that mythology into it all but with that being said, you do not need any Lovecraft interest or knowledge to understand the movie. Its just extra candy for those that are.Not going to spoil anything but i wish the movie would have expanded and gotten more info on the artifact, When the movie ends there is still some questions you want to have answered but in some ways it also probably makes the movie good in a way. Instead of having answers served it tickles the imagination a bit.The movie had its chilling moments and as i said a very pleasant surprise among all crap you find in the genre and i very much recommend a viewing, Might not connect well with all horror fans in a great way but if you got a thing for the Cthulhu mythos and Lovecraftian literature this is a must see.I will re watch this movie in a few months to see how a second look makes me feel but yes...recommended. I suspect budget was not huge in this movie but they have solved it well with the limitations they might have had. I give it a 7 in score and if you're on the hunt for a nice horroflick but cant decide...put this one on!