The Grey Review

Not all movies have to be marketed or labeled horror to be scary. If you have been following the life cycle of this website, you will know that I have reviewed a lot of movies that were marketed as either comedy, thrillers, or other types and have put them under the microscopic view of why it could be considered a scary film. That is something that you have to understand about this film, especially when you get to the meat of it all. The movie I’m going to try and talk about is The Grey.

The Grey came and went with nothing but a whimper. The plot of the film is about a group of oil workers in Alaska that suffer a plane crash. Many of the die in the accident, but there are some that survive and they all have to band together to try and find a way out of there. As the time goes by each one starts to lose hope and dies off, but not before they realize that they are being stalked by a monster of sorts, this time around it’s wolves.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I thought that the wolves could be werewolves or something far more scary, but the science and notion of the film showers you with a negative view of wolves in general. I for one am with the plot point, as scary as the outdoors are, combine that with a pack of wolves that are trying to eat intruders, and you have for some of the most scary premises ever made. That’s what makes this film work, the fact that the wolves are nature, and there’s nothing you can really do but fight, and die.

Liam Neeson plays the role of leader quite well, and it makes me think of him as Raas Al Ghul all over again. He fights hard to stay alive, and in the final sequence, has one of the most epic looks on his face as he creates a weapon out of small bottles of liquor and a belt. He then goes head to head with the Alpha Male of the pack.

The movie is straightforward, and the way the sounds work with the scenery, really makes a scary sound. There are some straight laced horror sequences here, and they don’t always shave to do with fighting wolves, it is definitely found in the despair of what it would be like to be a modern man trapped in the middle of nowhere. For those that aren’t aware of how big Alaska is, or how vast it is, get a map and start reading. The place is one of the only places in the United States where you will die in the elements and no one will find you, ever. The Grey is not a great movie, but it visually and semi sonically works to scare you when you start to realize how realistic a lot of the problems and answers occur throughout the film. Watch it, you might enjoy it.