Black Rock boasts a strong cast and a talented writer-director team in husband and wife duo Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton. It's got a fantastic opening, some great credits, several awesome songs ("Future Starts Slow" from The Kills is the standout) and real chemistry between leads Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell, and Katie Aselton. But it is ultimately worse than the sum of its parts.
Sarah (Bosworth) invites two of her friends to a small island for some reconnecting, where they run into an old schoolmate and two of his friends, who have recently returned from military service. An unfortunate event kicks off a fight for survival in a harsh environment, testing the capacities of everyone involved.
Black Rock's clearly going for the 70s era B-movie vibe, with over-the-top villains, harsh violence and some genuinely unsettling camerawork. But it never seems to come together. To be honest, it seems that those involved in the film don't have a ton of love for the movies that inspired it. This became heavily noticeable during the last half hour or so, which was particularly disappointing. I didn't love or hate Black Rock. In fact, I think I'm in the minority having just thought it was mediocre.
Black Rock is competing in the Park City at Midnight Competition.
