Perhaps writer-director Nick Szostakiwskyj should have titled his movie And Another Thing, because it follows the structure of John Carpenter’s 1982 frosty classic to the letter.
Of course, there’s one crucial difference, but we’ll discuss that later.
An archaeology team on a long-term dig in the frozen north of Canada unearths a monolith and a few artifacts. Next thing you know, the darn radio gives up the ghost and communication with the outside world is shut off.
Shortly thereafter, the camp comes under the malign influence of one or all of the following:
- The Deer God. (Dear God, no!)
- A parasitic virus that causes insanity.
- Just plain insanity, aka, Cabin Fever.
Suffice to say, these gooses are cooked. Paranoia rears its ugly head, and, much like Kurt Russell and his comrades, the team turns on itself.
Francis (Carl Toftfelt) starts hearing voices. Olsen (Michael Dickson) has a conversation with a corpse. Giles (Marc Anthony Williams) loads his gun and stops trusting anyone.
And nobody can sleep.
The key difference between Black Mountain Side and its predecessor (aside from budget and acting talent) is the uncertainty of the threat.
Is it alien? Pagan? Bacterial? Mental? Who knows?
All I can say for certain is that scientists and their subordinates working in Arctic environments have the life expectancy of a clumsy mine sweeper.
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