Calibre - Film Review

Calibre is a Netflix original British thriller film, written and directed by Matt Palmer, about two friends, Vaughn (played by Jack Lowden) and Marcus (played by Martin McCann), who travel up to a secluded village in the Scottish Highlands to go deer hunting. After a fatal accident occurs their hunting trip spirals out of control forcing them into a dangerous situation that threatens not only their freedom but their lives as well. Calibre will have you on the edge of your fucking seat!

This was an excellent film, it's well written and well directed with beautiful cinematography and great performances. There's about half an hour of introducing these characters and the setting and building a bit of tension and then the turning point happens and I was gripped until the end. There's a real sense of immediate urgency and the tension is almost unbearable, it's like being on a roller-coaster ride without a seat-belt at a theme park known for it's aggressive lack of hospitality.

There's a few excellent shots of the mountains and the forests and there's a great atmosphere in the area, especially in the local pub, there's a real sense of this being the British version of something like The Hills Have Eyes or anything with hill billy types out in the boondocks and the sort of characters you'd imagine in that setting, but Scottish, which is arguably worse! It's a simple enough premise but it's executed extremely well and never gives it's audience a chance to breathe!

The performances were great, both Jack Lowden and Martin McCann did an excellent job, I thought they both delivered very believable performances and sold these characters and this situation and all the Scottish people were great too! I liked Tony Curran's performance, you're not quite sure whether to trust him but he's a likeable character or more likeable than the others at least. It's a solid film, it's not groundbreaking but it's an effective edge of your seat thriller film.

I'd definitely recommend Calibre to both hardcore and casual film fans, it's fast paced, it's gripping with unbearable tension all the way through and it's extremely exciting, I was thoroughly entertained. Setting the film in the Scottish highlands was very effective as well, it's atmospheric and there's a good sense of being miles away from civilisation. It's a very well made thriller film and I really enjoyed it, so if you've got Netflix, watch it! I'm gonna give Calibre 7.5/10.

What's your favourite Netflix film?