Backwater (2013) User Reviews

So spooky. So scary. So almost FF.

[killercharm · 6/10 · 22 January 2020]

Good and tensed up scary about a camping couple in the Irish woods who are warned that they are not a safe woods, who then run from a knife sliced right through their tent. For once the victims act intelligently. They do not turn on their flashlight when they hear the bogey man; they do grab the knife as it slices through their tent and fend it off; they do run. BUT. A twist of events twists and lo! the girl is the bad guy! She is a med student slicing up people for they kidneys! So spooky. So scary. So almost FF.

Huh?

[tohkwongweng · 1/10 · 24 August 2018]

I too agree that giving this movie a 7 is completely ludicrous! What a load of utter nonsense! Nothing connected, absolutely nothing made sense and there was no attempt made to connect anything with anyone! Why the organ harvesting? I mean I understood that Cass was a medical student, but how did she and Glen suddenly become complicit in Matt's demise? And what was the purpose of harvesting Matt's kidney and then why leave it in the car after getting rid of some unknown nutter hiding in the back seat? And the Ranger was some sort of religious nut? With a posse of assassins? Oh my God (sorry). You can't just add scene after scene of random violence without it making any sense. Perhaps if some background was known about Matt, Cassie and Glen it might have made some sense, so I spent the whole movie trying to figure out how everything tied together! This movie was a jumbled mish mash of a horror movie, the best part is that it didn't even achieve that status because it wasn't scary in the least! It just borrowed cliche after cliche from other scary movies. Well you can't fool me. I absolutely love the horror genre and this movie is a complete and utter embarrassment to it. Probably the worst B scary movie I've ever had the displeasure of watching. I should have just avoided this one like the plague.

Nonsense

[Vuuz · 3/10 · 17 March 2021]

As 2 other reviewers said, this movie makes no sense. First part seems ok, sets the mood... Then supposedly twists happen. But it's in fact a big bore. There is no explanation as to why things happen, no logical link, no clues really. Empty display of somewhat gory scenes that viewers can't wrap their head around. The viewer is left confused, unsatisfied, and likely to lose interest along the way because of lack sense to the events in the movie. flawed.

Don't believe the other 2 reviews

[dizznmo · 1/10 · 2 August 2017]

I should know better than to believe reviews when there are only 2 of them, thank god I didn't pay for this truly awful flick, I don't even think I can call it a movie! The other reviews said it starts out slow but then it gets so good, it did not. When the action or whatever it is starts it simply gets worse! Omg, I couldn't force myself to finish it. The good reviews are obviously from people connected to the flick. I get it, they want people to watch their movie but please if you have to trick people into watching then you must know it's really bad. Instead of faking a review try going back to the drawing board and make something that actually is good and guess what will happen, people will actually watch your work and if it's really good people may also write a good review for you. If you can't do better than the the drivel I just sat through then maybe you shouldn't make movies or get a good story, good writers, a good director and please get some at least halfway decent actors! Time is precious so please don't waste others time by tricking them, please!!! Hope my review will save others from making the same mistake.

Very good

[numberone_1 · 7/10 · 29 June 2017]

As an avid fan of thrillers (horror too, if the horror is necessary to the story), I came across this title and, thanks to Amazon Prime, I was able to watch it. There's something to be said for the "backwater" / "out camping by the lake" horror genre, but "Backwater" is vastly different from the prototypes associated with that genre (e.g., Friday the 13th) - by a long shot.

I thought this was a very good film. The story is seemingly innocent in that the boyfriend/girlfriend duo decide to camp out by the lake, and, upon hearing a shout (they reference it as a "scream"), they begin to investigate, with each of them running into someone else. What starts off rather slow picks up in terms of tension, horror, and convolution about 1/3 of the way through. I jumped a few times, was mildly grossed-out a few times, and didn't see any of the twists coming 'round the bend! The style of filming is mostly single-camera, though frequently scenes take place at night and in thick darkness, and sometimes it was difficult to see these scenes. Definitely worth checking out!

My Review Of "Backwater"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 7/10 · 11 October 2015]

"Backwater" begins a tradition 'vacationers in the wrong part of the wilderness' concept that creates a comfortable familiarity. Schrack starts out with two people just enjoying some time alone in the woods, camping and sexing. At first this feels somewhat redundant and the story moves a bit slow. However this is all calculated because by 35 minutes into "Backwater" it becomes clear that the story is far more than it appears. Which is good because the pace picks up, the characters become interesting, and the horror really kicks in. Acting, directing, cinematography and story is all well comprised of eerie, chilling, and tense aspects that create a nice story arc, and vision.

"Backwater" does give some classic grindhouse, indie style gore and horror which is all done mostly with practical effects. It never gets really into the visceral shock realm of the horrors, staying on the milder, but bloody side of the thriller genre. Still there is some good, and gory moments that hit hard, and entertain. The soundtrack, music is traditional 'backwater' horror sounds that work nice in this film, but don't really offer anything that hasn't been heard before. Still it is all packaged within "Backwater" nicely so no real complaints here. The twist and the darker antagonists as a sort 'implement of retribution' creates the real nightmare of this fusion of campfire horror and urban legend.

Overall "Backwater" is a nice, middle of the road horror that is worth watching. The start is slow but it quickly picks up and turns the story in on itself a bit. It is clever, and once the true nightmare kicks in the pace quickens, and the adrenaline increases. And Christopher Schack keeps this story more horror than psychological thriller similar to films like the cult classic "Long Weekend". I enjoyed "Backwater" because I didn't expect that twist that came about in the story, and it never really loses energy. I did hate that the violence and horror elements weren't more graphic and visceral but the film is still a pretty tight thriller.