''Backcountry'' is a 2014 Canadian

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

–

survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...

film, written and directed by

Adam MacDonald William Adam MacDonald (born April 26, 1977) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He is known for portraying Being Erica#Characters, Josh MacIntosh on the CBC Television, CBC show ''Being Erica'', Peter McGregor on ''Wild Roses (TV series) ...

, marking his

feature film directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. It is loosely based on the true story of a hungry man-eating

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

that attacked Mark Jordan and Jacqueline Perry, in the back country of

Missinaibi Lake Missinaibi Lake () is a lake in Ontario, Canada, about north of Chapleau. It is the source of the Missinaibi River, which drains the lake at the northeastern point and flows northeastward into the Moose River.''Merriam-Webster's Geographical D ...

Provincial Park, North of Chapleau,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

in 2005, events for which Mark later received the Star of Courage award from Governor General

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian former journalist who served as the 27th governor general of Canada from 2005 to 2010. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person to hold this office. Jean was the Organisation i ...

. The film premiered at the

2014 Toronto International Film Festival The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the 39th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held in Canada from 4–14 September 2014. David Dobkin (director), David Dobkin's film ''The Judge (2014 film), The Judg ...

, and received positive reviews from critics upon release.

Plot

Alex and his girlfriend Jenn arrive at a provincial park to go camping for the weekend in hopes of exploring a trail he loved when he was younger. Alex refuses a map from the park ranger, confident that he knows the park well. On the first night after they set up camp, they encounter an Irish tour guide named Brad who Jenn invites to have dinner with them. Brad flirts with Jenn, much to Alex's annoyance; the two confront one another and Brad leaves. The following morning, Alex decides to go off-trail, deeper into the park where he remembers there is a lake with a waterfall. On the way, he sees a bear paw print in the ground but does not alert Jenn. They also discover a half-eaten deer carcass. When they arrive at where Alex believes the lake to be, it is not there and he realises they are lost. Panicked, Jenn looks for her cell phone to call for help but Alex reveals he removed it from her backpack and left it in the car, worried that she would be distracted by it all weekend. The pair argue, and Jenn reveals she never wanted to come hiking. Alex tells her he was planning to propose. They make camp for the night and, as the pair sleep, a huge black bear approaches the tent. In the morning, they find all of their food has been eaten. As they continue hiking, they come across a bear bed and, realising there is a bear near, decide to walk as far as they can while it's light. The following morning, Alex awakens to see the bear a few metres from the tent. It approaches and eventually claws its way through, injuring Jenn's arm. She briefly wards it off with bear spray but it returns, and Jenn watches in horror as Alex is dragged from the tent and brutally mauled to death. Jenn flees without any belongings. Jenn rests for the night high up in a tree; she awakes to the sound of a helicopter overhead, but fails to get its attention. Stalked again by the bear, she manages to escape by climbing down a waterfall, but slips and breaks her ankle. Using a makeshift splint, she struggles through the park using her flare as a guide. Miraculously, Jenn makes it back to their starting point where they left their canoe. She paddles back to the park entrance and collapses in the parking lot. Brad, who is getting ready to lead a tour, notices her and rushes over to help.

Cast

Missy Peregrym Melissa "Missy" Peregrym (born June 16, 1982) is a Canadian actress and former fashion model. She is known for her roles as Haley Graham in the 2006 film ''Stick It''; as Officer Andy McNally on the ABC and Global Television Network series ' ...

as Jen * Jeff Roop as Alex *

Eric Balfour Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the Lifetime movie ''No One Would Tell'' in 1996, followed by the drama '' Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in '' What Women Want'' (2000), Rise ...

as Brad *

Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He is a four-time Gemini Awards, Gemini Award winner, a three-time Genie Awards, Genie Award nominee, and a Canadian Screen Awards, Canadian Screen Award nominee. He is k ...

as The Ranger * Chester and Charlie as The Bear

Production

Production took place from October through November 2013. The film was shot in

Powassan, Ontario Powassan () is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located near North Bay. Powassan is located in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District, at its easternmost boundary with the Nipissing District. The municipality ...

and Caddy Lake, Manitoba and was funded by

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Canadian Crown corporation that supports Canada's audiovisual industry. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm Canada provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in Vancouver, British Colu ...

and

Northern Ontario Heritage Fund The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is a Crown corporation and development agency of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in the Canadian province of Ontario, whose purpose is to provide funding and program support to ...

Release

The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on September 8, 2014.

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''Backcountry'' holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 50 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10. Its consensus reads, "Tense, well-acted, and at once atmospheric as well as brutally impactful, ''Backcountry'' marks a memorably assured debut from writer-director Adam MacDonald." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".

References

External links

* * * {{Adam MacDonald 2014 films 2014 horror films 2014 horror thriller films 2010s survival films English-language Canadian films Canadian horror thriller films Canadian natural horror films Films about bears Films set in forests IFC Films films Films shot in Ontario Films shot in Manitoba 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films English-language horror thriller films English-language adventure films