Ditched

Interesting but not great. I liked the twist (no spoilers here) I don't feel like seeing this was a waste of my time but I probably wouldn't watch it again.

An ambulance carrying some dangerous prisoners crashes late one night, leaving both police, paramedics and convicts stuck in the woods. Then things get worse when they discover there are those waiting for them in the darkness who have lethal intentions towards them.

It's a low-budget flick which is effectively one main location, i.e. The stricken ambulance where the survivors of the crash try and make it out alive. I know it's a nit-pick, but the film is well too stylishly lit for deep in the woods during the middle of the night. Bright neon lights of all colours seem to light up every scene which - although looking pretty - just doesn't seem real.

But, apart from that very minor gripe, the cast do their jobs well enough. There are some revelations as the characters try to figure up what they're up against and why they're here. The budget is low. I was almost about to turn the film off when I saw what was waiting for them in the woods, but the film quickly pointed out that those lurking in the shadows weren't supposed to be anything you - technically - couldn't see in real life, so I gave the film a pass.

It was entertaining enough. The main antagonist over-acts a bit and sometimes comes across as a little 'too British' (I have no idea of the actor's ethnicity, so I have no idea whether he was putting on the accent. It's not a bad story if you're watching it on a streaming platform - just be sure to ignore the plot holes and the ending is a little vague (but I may just have missed something). Perhaps I wasn't in the mood to be very forgiving on this one as the fact that the computer generated blood effects seemed to be the 'wrong way round' in my opinion, i.e. A pistol shot to the head completely destroys the whole human head whereas a shotgun blast to the face leaves the victim completely intact, minus some blood spatter at the rear.

The movie starts off with an interesting premise, and the first half hour or so is interesting and feels like it's building up to something unique... and then it just got incredibly stupid and was one idiotic moment after the next, none of which is even remotely believable or even plausible.

The core idea makes sense, but how they implemented it made absolutely no sense at all. It was just a bunch of random idiocy. Which is a shame.

I would definitely avoid this movie. It's a complete and total waste of time.

The premise is good. An ambulance and a police car are off the road and the ambulance is overturned. They were transporting prisoners to a hospital. It was not an accident. We soon get to realize the prisoners are really bad people. Really bad, and the accident happened in a place with no cell service, and radios can't get out of the canyon. Melina is the paramedic that seemed to have suffered a concussion, but soon seems the most lucid. Another paramedic suffered a broken shin, and the third was stunned, but seemed to recover. But Melina is the most able to get around. So it is not an accident, and one expects that there is something about the prisoners. Either to release them, or get revenge on them. There are strangers in the woods, wearing total camouflage that are very threatening, and they decapitate the one cop, who was driving the police car, when he tried to get to higher ground to get a signal out. So it is not looking good for them. Melina only wants to get back to her daughter Lily, and is determined to survive until help can arrive. To that point, it is done very well. The problem is that the movie continues, and while it is only a movie, it is not believable for the scenario then presented.

Oh boy, how could I´ve been so wrong? I just assumed Christopher Donaldson's debut feature film and writer of the story, perfect recipe for disaster. And I will say it again, I couldn't have been more wrong. I was pretty impressed with how the whole film came together. And this movie came even with a brilliant twist at the very end. Did not see that one coming. With an estimated budget of CA$1,000,000 my guess is that this is like the best movie you could have made, the most bang for your buck. "Ditched" opens on a brutal car accident that has left an ambulance overturned. Paramedic Melina (Marika Sila) is the only passenger conscious among two other paramedics, two police officers, and three prisoners. Things don't seem incredibly awful, that is until Melina starts to realize that they may not be alone out there in that ditch. In fact, nobody seems to be who he is or was. I really liked the characters in this movie and from time to time the dialogues were very good. A long way to go but if this is your first movie, expect some fireworks in the future. The cast and their acting performance was very decent. However the acting performances of Marika Sila (Melina) and especially the performance from Kris Loranger (Franson) were just inspirational. I am now just waiting to see more from Christopher Donaldson. And I have a feeling he will deliver.... To those who like this genre, a must-see!