No-budget backwoods monster flick is actually pretty innovative and rewarding MADE IN 2004 AND RELEASED IN 2006, "The Lonely Ones" is an ultra-low budget cabin-in-the-woods slasher chronicling the adventures of nine college students (five girls and four guys) who vacation in a big modern cabin in Arizona owned by the family of one of the girls. Havoc ensues when they discover that they're the prey of someone or something(s) lurking in the woods. This is the kind of micro-budget flick that rises above its limitations and offers something fairly impressive and worthwhile. It only cost $100,000 to make and most of that went into lodging & catering for the cast and crew in the middle of nowhere. For the most part, the first 36 minutes are weak with all the limitations of no-budget fare: dubious sound, bad lighting, fuzzy cinematography from hand-held digital cams, etc. But at the 36-minute mark things spark into motion till the end with numerous effective, moving or thrilling sequences. I'll be honest with you, I was about to give-up on the movie because of its shortcomings in the first act, but I'm glad I stayed with it because it turned everything around for a pretty potent backwoods monster movie. Despite the presence of no less than a dozen characters (featuring a nicely diverse cast) and a spare change budget, director/writer David Michael Quiroz Jr. was able to flesh out the characters with a well-crafted and original script. On top of this, there's a varied score that's pretty effective, even though one long sequence in the second act drones on with the eerie piano. Speaking of the piano, one part is reminiscent of Savatage's "Storm," which is good in my book. The score also includes some moving acoustic guitar pieces and a hard rock/metal piece. Of the five girls, they're all pretty average-looking (not ugly, just average) with the exception of petite cutie Devanny Pinn as Tifa, who's a unique-looking semi-hottie; and maybe the redhead protagonist, Rinoa, played by Heather Conforto, aka Heather Rae. FINAL SAY: "The Lonely Ones" really surprised; it's a gem in a sea of micro-budget dreck. But you won't be able to appreciate it unless you can adapt to its no-budget style, which I was fully able to do after the first act (I also went back and re-watched the first act whereupon discovering that it's actually a solid set-up for the rest of the movie). Once the second act started I was gripped to the end and very impressed by the proceedings despite the movie's obvious limitations. This would be a great movie if it were redone with a decent budget. The director/writer should've gone on to better things but, as of this writing, he hasn't directed anything since 2009, and that was a TV episode. That's a shame because "The Lonely Ones" shows that he's got the talent to create greatness. He just needs the funds to back up his vision. THE FILM RUNS 97 minutes and was shot in Greer, Arizona. GRADE: B-

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