“The Alpines” (2021): Extreme “Unfriending”

Synopsis

“The Alpines” follows seven friends coming together for a weekend getaway after several years of scarce contact. They’ve grown apart. They’ve moved on with their lives. But the secrets of their past will come back to haunt them. A very real and genuinely terrifying threat is ready to expose every last one.

Starring Aaron Latta-Morissette, Mally Corrigan, Katrina Flick, Jessie Mac, Niguel Quinn, Michael Taveira, Daniel Victor. Directed by Dante Aubain. Written by Mally Corrigan.

The Good

Aaron Latta-Morissette as the put-upon protagonist Zach heads a solid cast, no-names but not no talent. These performances register roundly well above routine. Writer Mally Corrigan gives all the characters consistently cogent, often comical, words to say that both resonate and chill. Director Dante Aubain extracts the most from his stable of talent amidst limited sets utilized to ultimate impact.

The Bad

One gripe. Mental illness does not always lead to maliciousness and mayhem.

We’ve all been there.  Well, not quite the there here…

Ever been wronged by a friend? Welcome to the human condition.

Ever been wronged by a friend to the point you craved revenge? Some have.

Ever been wronged by a friend so egregiously that you wanted to do them harm. Again, there are those among us…

Such is the dire dynamic in force in the “The Alpines”.

And it seems always those quiet ones…

Zach is a sad sack. Dumped by his fiancé, fired from his job, struggling through therapy, he turns to his old college buddies for support. They turn away from him.

Now, in a remote mountain cabin deep in the woods, it’s Zach’s turn to be heard. Clearly. Conclusively. Caustically.

It is not a pleasant conversation.

Overall

As we bear witness far too often as Americans, mental illness left unchecked and untreated can result in devastating tragedy.

And when it does, we as a society continue to hope and pray that the severely unstable in our country, both cognitively and emotionally, seek, and are helped to find, the attention and care they so desperately need.

And, per this petrifying parable, they profoundly, and painfully, pine for.

I cordially invite you to enjoy all of my entertaining and eclectic film reviews, continually updated at “The Quick Flick Critic”

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