Backcountry
IFC Films | Release Date: March 20, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Geoff PevereSep 3, 2015
Fear is the anticipation of horror, and it’s this movie’s prime evil: not what happens inside the tent, but what might be making that noise outside. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 26, 2015
Backcountry inevitably brings on the bloody, but it finds atmospheric ways to depict how the bucolic hush of a nature getaway can morph into a survival nightmare for the unprepared. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasMar 24, 2015
MacDonald has seen enough horror movies of varying kinds to know what audiences expect, and one of the pleasures of Backcountry is how skillfully it toys with those expectations, setting us up for something like a Mumblecore “Straw Dogs” and ending up somewhere closer to a landlocked “Jaws.” Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 23, 2015
While there is some gore late in the film, what makes Backcountry special is the care and patience it invests in its characters and the quiet, haunting tension of its story line. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirMar 19, 2015
Another way of reading a movie like this is that it channels our ancient hatred of nature while recognizing that it’s essentially nostalgic, and that the occasional hungry ursine cannot compete with the animal we really have reason to fear. Read full review
70
The DissolveCharles BramescoMar 18, 2015
[A] solid, well-executed testament to the horrors of the great outdoors. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweFeb 23, 2015
Solid performances from the small cast and robust visuals will be clear selling points with audiences seeking the raw excitement of an elemental survival film. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeMar 19, 2015
Without effective characterization to drive the moments in between, the spectacle of humans painfully, extensively, gratuitously suffering for their arrogance is more sadistic than thrilling. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyMar 20, 2015
It’s all pretty effective but in the end, somehow empty. Not to make an unfair comparison to a classic, but the movie “Deliverance” actually followed through on all of the themes that its storyline suggested, while in Backcountry, we end up with a storyline in which all but the most elemental stuff winds up as window dressing. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenMar 17, 2015
After a surprising development, the film grows slack and sentimental, reverting to the survival-movie platitude about hardship making you a better human. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 24, 2015
Just when you thought it was safe to stand up to a bear in the woods, this jarring indie horror drama will make you scurry back indoors. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 19, 2015
Mr. MacDonald’s ability to notch up dread moment by moment — with a rustle of leaves, the snap of a twig — is all the more impressive given that it takes a while to warm up to the two souls he cuts loose in those woods. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick SchagerMar 17, 2015
Writer-director Adam MacDonald's direction creates an ominous sense of rural-nowhere isolation, and his script avoids contrived banter while shrewdly suggesting it's headed toward horror before unexpectedly veering into survival-story territory. Nonetheless, such misdirection can't compensate for hopelessly routine action. Read full review
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