Walking Against the Rain

Looking forward to seeing more from Scott Lyus and am happy to have discovered his movie on Amazon Prime. This is a very effective 1st feature film with excellent actor direction, a good plot and a script that is as heartfelt as it is minimal. As someone who loves the post-apocalyptic genre, I could anticipate many of the twists but was still at the edge of my seat! It's realism comes from the unnamed derelict British country-side and the moments of daily life between intense moments of fear that the main characters experience each in their own way. The contrast between Blair and Tommy, as well as the radios as a unique plot driver keeps us going until the very end. I really recommend this one and hope to see more by this team!

I'm a big fan of character driven movies and the post-apocalyptic genre so this was already ticking the boxes for me.

We start off following Blair - one of (what we presume) very few survivors. We don't really learn much about what happened to the world but I'm okay with that, this isn't a story about how the world ended, it's a story about two people coming together to survive.

Shortly after we get introduced to Tommy as the pair find each other by chance over their radios. They decide to arrange to meet at a location and face this new world together - getting there alive being the biggest obstacle. Their relationship was the only part I felt was a tad rushed and whilst I understand we want to be propelled into the story; I would have loved to have seen them take a bit more time to build trust with each other. HOWEVER, in saying that, I found myself fully routing for them by the end of the movie - give that they're filming on their own for the majority of the film - this was impressive to achieve!

I loved that they decided to use practical effects and given the low budget, did a fantastic job at creating the monsters.

Overall, it's a great indie film that knows exactly what kind of film it is - something I feel first time directors don't always get right but it shows Lyus has a clear vision, story and can write interesting, complex characters. I loved how he focused the story about the characters and their journey, building great tension along the way.

I'm excited to see what he does next.

It's a post-apocalyptic world. Blair is a lone survivor trying to salvage for some remaining food. She's avoiding cultists and monsters. She hears a friendly voice on the walkie talkie from stranger Tommy.

The first half is a slow apocalypse. There are no thrills, no action, and no tension. It's a lot of empty banter with a few nuggets of back story. It's slow. Then they show the monster at the midway point and it looks like a rubber Alien suit. The best way to hide the amateur prop is to film it at night. It's almost passable for that one scene. They really need to have an early action scene with the monster. This is strictly a low budget sci-fi indie.

This is a movie that I got to see the North American Premiere at Nightmares Film Festival. Since I try not to investigate these movies ahead of seeing them, I came in blind. What I will say is that I liked the title. The filmmaker was also in attendance which was cool to get to hear behind the scenes stuff as well.

Synopsis: two strangers trying to find one another navigate a barren landscape, only to discover they're not alone.

For this, we are following Blair (Sophia Eleni) and Tommy (Reece Douglas). We start with Blair. The world has ended. I don't recall what happened there. I know that writer/director Scott Lyus said that this idea started ahead of the pandemic and it came together during. That makes for an eerie coincidence. Blair goes out searching for supplies and finds a relief base. There isn't a lot there, but she does find some canned food. She hears something inside of a locked room that causes her to flee.

Outside of searching for supplies, Blair also turns her radio on at different times. She is trying to find other survivors. She does connect with Tommy. He has been moving across the countryside, heading for a cabin that his grandfather owned. He doesn't know if it is safe there, but he needs a destination. The two of them talk and decide to meet there. She knows where the place is. It makes you question your existence and is surviving is worth it without a purpose. The two get to know each other over the radio.

There is also danger around them. There are these creatures that hunt at night. We see that they are getting smarter. Hunting in ways that are different from what Blair and Tommy have seen. Along their journey, they meet other things, both good and bad, that could prevent them from making it.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap as this is a simple story. It is a character study of Blair and Tommy. We get to know them through their conversations over the radio as they share information. This is also a road/journey movie as they survive different things that happen. I do have slight issues with things, but none of it ruins the overall product. I'll get into those shortly, but I wanted to start with positives.

With that said, I liked the idea. It is a perfect pandemic movie. We are in a post-apocalyptic world. That allows a small cast of people. We get to know our two leads in an interesting way. I think their performances are both good as well. Eleni and Douglas feel like their characters. They brought them to life and I would believe that things they're saying are pulled from their real life. It is interesting, because I'm sure part of it is written in to make sure it fits for what their character needs. I would bet though that they added a bit of themselves on top of it. That is something I can appreciate as it makes it feel real. The world they are in is good as well.

Where I want to go from there would be the monsters. They look great. They went practical from everything I could see and it feels like something you'd see in Silent Hill. They don't go too much in detail as to what they are. I'll be honest though, that wasn't an issue for me. Our characters don't know so all we do is what they relay. It is a classic idea that they know how they work, but they're evolving. They are doing something different. This is an idea we've seen with things like Day of the Dead or even now on The Walking Dead. I'm not knocking the movie. It adds tension that things are different and unexpected for the characters.

Since I've already moved over to it, I'll go to the filmmaking. I'll start with the cinematography as this movie looks great. We get good landscape shots that look amazing. It looks better than its budget. Moving to the effects, I've already said that I like the creatures. If there is CGI, I couldn't tell which I give credit to. The rest of the cast is also interesting. They are limited roles, but they help push and shape our characters to where they need to go. There are good and bad ones which helps. I think this is a well-made movie if I'm honest.

I'm then going to go to my negatives. I feel like this movie needed a bit more than what we got. The movie just feels like it meanders. I'm wondering if some of my issues are budgetary. I know that I said I don't mind knowing about the creatures. If we aren't going to get that or where they came from, then what happened to world. What caused it to end? I think that can add a level to our characters knowing that. We get heart from learning about our leads and what they miss, but there is just something that is lacking for it to fully work for me.

In conclusion, this is a solid movie. I like what they're doing here with taking advantage of the pandemic to have a small cast. Being that this is taking place in a post-apocalyptic world works. I think that our two leads are good. Eleni and Douglas bring enough of themselves to the role to bring them to life. The rest push the characters to where they need to end up as well as help shape them. I like the look of the creatures and they're creepy. For me though, I think that we needed a bit more. Either give a bit more information about what ended the world or explain the creatures a bit more. Other than that, I thought this was a well-made movie overall.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

This character driven monster movie is absolute banger. Funny, scary, tense and properly moving. Had the privilege of seeing this at FrightFest and it was a genuine highlight. Props all round. The performances, direction, writing, score all on point. Can't wait to see what everyone involved does next. Hopefully this gem gets the recognition and widespread acknowledgement it deserves.

Independent cinema is more important than ever and watching films like this make you realise why. The ending is an a belter.

Get on it so can you say you were on board before everyone involved goes big time!

Absolutely lovely stuff!