And Soon the Darkness starring Amber Heard, Odette Yustman & Karl Urban

Close friends Ellie and Stephanie (Amber Heard) are on a bicycle trip through Argentina. Their final stop is a small town, where the locals seem to either menacing, or worried that they are travelling on their own.

Stephanie isn’t particularly thrilled that Ellie (Odette Yustman) is flirting for the both of them. While she hooks up with a local, she tries to get the attention of Michael (Karl Urban) –another tourist- for Stephanie.  Michael doesn’t seem interested, although he warns Ellie not to leave Stephanie alone.

The girls miss their bus the next morning. They go to a secluded area for exploration, a place that proves to be exactly the wrong time and place to have a fight with each other. Stephanie takes off, leaving Ellie behind. Ellie is too stubborn to follow. By the time she decides to meet Steph, it is too late. Ellie is abducted.

Steph realizes something is wrong but there is no one to trust, except for Michael- whose actions seem dubious and the policeman Calvo (César Vianco), who can’t have been more nonchalant about the whole thing.

With so many girls gone missing, is it possible that there is more than one villain? And will Steph be able to save Ellie?

**

While I have to admit the trailer is cooler than the movie, the movie is not bad at all. The major problem the movie is that even though it is not a teen-slasher (thankful for that!), the characters’ borderline stupidity certainly makes you feel like you are watching one. How stupid could Ellie be? And how idiotic could the seemingly rational and cautious Stephanie get when leaving Ellie alone? When looking for her on her own?

I can forgive characters acting stupidly during a fight or an escape but Ellie and Stephanie make so many things that make the abductor’s job so much easier. And as if we are not having enough idiotic decisions from the girls, Michael himself contributes to the crappy decisions.

It seems like screenwriters can’t write/re-write a movie (this one was based on the 1970 film And Soon the Darkness) with smart victims. They don’t have to be rational all the time, but it would have to be refreshing to see our potential victims be a little smarter.

But well, I guess if we go with the fact that there are many clueless people engaging in brainless activities, the movie shouldn’t be considered too much of a stretch.

It’s fun trying to guess who you should trust all the while seeing some nice and not-so-nice Argentina countryside.

Pop-corn thriller that is above mediocre. 6.5 for the effort.  1/10 to how well the characters’ brain works. Still, And Soon the Darkness makes one long and great commercial for “what not to do” during a girls-only holiday.