Synopsis:
Attempting to move past a family tragedy the summer previous, 17-year-old Gillian takes a job as a counselor at a remote summer camp. As part of her initiation, she must spend two nights by herself on the camp’s island, an intimidating collision of rock and wilderness carved out of the lake, supposedly haunted by the ghost of a camper who disappeared suspiciously decades before. When Gillian’s ‘solo’ is interrupted by a local man responding to a distress call, what was meant to be a peaceful time alone in nature devolves into something disturbingly different. As her paranoia mounts, a horrifying secret is uprooted and Gillian finds herself in desperate fight to survive.
When I first heard of this film, I was sitting in a meeting with the writer/director Isaac Cravit. He was explaining the process of writing and directing a feature film, getting distribution and looking for investors. The second time the movie came across my screen was when the premier screening was announced at this year’s Montreal Film Festival. When I heard it was playing in Toronto, I had to see what all the hype was about.
Now, I will admit that I used to like scarey movies until, I started beveling in the ghostly tales and stopped watching them completely. As an urban kid, camping in the woods, going to the forest, being one with nature is not really my thing and this movie tells the story of why I will never go into the woods by myself. Initiation or not.
Solo, follows the journey of a teenage girl who is vying for a camp counselor job. In order to be considered for the role, she has to spend two days alone on a haunted island. That’s right, haunted, by ghosts. I would right then and there pack by bags and make my way back to the city. But she stays and learns the truth about the spooky place.
This movie was well shot, suspenseful, and very Canadiana. When it is available on iTunes I would highly consider that you download it and get ready for a solo trip.
Richelle Sibolboro 