Dan R
2023's 'Quicksand' recently dropped onto Amazon Prime via Shudder.
SYNOPSIS: 'Follows a married couple almost divorcing who become trapped in quicksand while hiking through a rainforest in Colombia. They will battle the elements of the jungle and must work together in order to survive.'
Firstly, is it even quicksand if it's mud and you're in the middle of a forest? Someone more knowledgeable help me!
On a very basic level this film works. It's very primal, it's very much about the fight for survival from two people who don't really like each other anymore. Their road to reconciliation is a bit corny but also expected.
This film is a great example of how in modern times even B movies can look absolutely fantastic and be of Hollywood quality. Shudder have invested heavily in the films they're involved with, and you can tell that here.
The way it effectively pulls on our own fears should be really hailed.
A tension filled, entertaining thriller.
7/10
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/10/24
Full Review
Nicki M
This movies plot was simple and the storyline lame/ unbelievable. Couldn't even watch to the end... hope the python got them.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
10/08/23
Full Review
Theron R
Right off the back it's important to know that your enjoyment of Quicksand" is 100% reliant on your enjoyment of single location thrillers. Whether it's "Glorious", "Fall", or "Buried" you have to be the kind of person who not only watches these movies only set in one location, but enjoys them as well. "Quicksand" doesn't do anything to rewrite the book on single location thrillers, but with the Halloween season coming up it could easily find itself on your scary movie playlist one of these cool fall nights.
Writer Matt Pitts (Westworld, Zoo) and Director Andres Beltran (Primate, Savage Rhythm) film focuses on Sofia (Carolina Gaitan – Encanto, Celia) & Josh (Allan Hawco – The Breach, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan), a married couple on their last legs enjoying a trip in Columbia looking to find some answers for their future. Taking an opprotunity to see a different part of Columbia the couple decide to go hiking in an ill-advised area, and after an attempted mugging, find themselves caught up to their necks in (you guessed it) quicksand. I honestly couldn't think of the last film I saw that had a huge setpiece based around quicksand, much less the entire movie (Jungle Cruise maybe?), but I will say that this movie definitely keeps a much more realistic depiction of how it's supposed to work.
The film is only 85 minutes, and so while we're not given too much time with Sofia & Josh prior to their sticky predicament, we get more time than a lot of other films in this genre which allows us to get to know Sofia & Josh a bit more. We're not given explicit reasons for the impending divorce, and the movie doesn't care enough (for good reason) to establish which of the two is the bigger cause for their problems, but it does a good job of not allowing either of the two to be looked at in such a negative light that we're hoping for their demise. While not a common problem in this genre, it's hard to find yourself caring about staring at someone for over an hour if it turns out they're a terrible person.
The shorter run time is definitely a benefit here as the bigger problem with a film like this in the single location thriller genre is that it's not really based on outside forces against the protagonists. Think of "Fall", while there were some internal battles happening between the lead characters stuck on the tower, there wasn't any evil force up against them. Typically these films include some kind of outside force so there's still some place for us to direct our anger, could be a serial killer, an alien, terorists, whatever it is, having that outside force just makes things easier for us to deal with the confined space. While "Quicksand" does introduce the area our couple is stuck in as a high drug trafficking area, you'd be hard pressed to remember that after the opening scene. Ultimately it's for the best though as the quicksand is obviously the perfect place for this couple to work out their issues, and the movie absolutely would have become too convulated in it's short run time trying to fit a subplot with drug runners and the such.
If the poster wasn't a giveaway to you, our characters are going to have to deal with much more than losing their breaths in a pit of sand, yes they do end up having to deal with a pretty large snake that they've unfortunately fallen in the path of, unfortunately that's about the height of the tension here in the film. I respect our filmmakers for presenting what's ultimately a pretty reigned in story without much fluff to it, as silly as it may sound, this might be the most realistic approach to a story like this. That said though, that doesn't mean it's too entertaining. There is certainly a ticking time clock element to the story, but as it's established pretty early on that our characters likely would take a long time to sink, it's likely not the ticking time clock you'd expect and that takes away the majority of the tension here. If we don't have to be worried about Drug Runners, the bugs, dehydration, or really even the quicksand, but we DO need to be worried about the snakes, then the conversations between our leads needs to be damn good, and unfortunately it's just not that gripping after the first couple rounds of it.
Confusingly though, (minor spoilers to follow) the film almost seems to introduce some kind of subplot involving one of the couple and their best friend where it almost seems to allude the two of them having an affair. I say "almost" and "confusing" because it seems like the movie is right on the cusp of confirming that to be a thing, but instead they're just a very close friend who are clearly worried about the recent dissapearance. I'm not sure if it was the editing or the writing, but I'd be curious if anyone else got the same vibes from it, as it wouldn't be anything new for the genre, but it just seems weird that it's ALMOST introduced, and then thrown away just as easily. Honestly as the filmmaker I likely would have doubled down and made everything very much apparent with this particular storyline as while it would have been cliché, it still would have added some much necessary tension to a film sorely lacking.
Quicksand doesn't feature much in the way of blood & gore, and there's only some light tension to keep you interested, it's ultimately light on scares, and doesn't do enough with it's premise to be a standout amongst a number of other high profile films in the genre.
Quicksand is available to watch for free on Shudder
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
09/29/23
Full Review
Md.Galib S
Quite average, like it was all about a couple getting stuck in quicksand and their relation was gonna be worse.. but after struggling tgth in that horrible situation, they again got attatched and cleared the misunderstandings... not highly recommending to watch it, but yeah.. it passed the time well...
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
09/01/23
Full Review
Jose Claudio G
Is it serious that they put a boa constrictor as being poisonous??? Hahahaha.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
08/31/23
Full Review
Alex C
They tried to copy open water but failed. I can't see why this is rated 18, don't waste your time with this movie.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
08/12/23
Full Review
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