Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

MBunge Let me begin this review by being completely honest. When the opening credits rolled and I saw that Jamie Blanks was not only the director but also an executive producer and responsible for both the music and the editing of Nature's Grave, I was not filled with hope of a quality cinema experience. When someone's name is listed 4 times at the start of a movie that was made with a decent budget, it's usually the sign of somebody who thinks way too highly of themselves doing more than they should have. So perhaps my expectations for this motion picture were abnormally low going in, but I found it to be a surprisingly effective and creepy good time. But in the interests of complete honesty, I must also admit that it is very, very, very slow and is centered entirely on two characters it is nearly impossible to give a damn about.Peter (Jim Caviezel) is an American living in Australia with his Aussie wife Carla (Claudia Karmen). You can tell right away there are serious problems in their marriage and Peter has cajoled/pressured his wife into a weekend camping trip at some hidden beach in the middle of nowhere with one of Peter's friends and his girlfriend, seeking some sort of reconciliation. Carla, who dislikes the whole idea of "roughing it" only slightly less than she dislikes Peter at the moment, seems vaguely open to the idea of saving their union but isn't interested in making it easy.After a long drive and a turnoff onto a forest path, bickering most of the way, Peter and Carla arrive at what may or may not be the right beach. They set up camp anyway and try to enjoy themselves. Well, Peter tries. Carla mostly sulks that she's stuck in the woods instead of at some resort. But while the couple's relationship bounces around spoiled attempts at intimacy and hints at a bad history, they face increasing menace from the natural world around them. Eventually, Peter and Carla's personal bond explodes into anger and recriminations, but that's overshadowed by the fact that it seems unlikely they're going to get out of the woods alive.Nature's Grave is highlighted by some great work from director of photography Karl Von Moller. The shots of the woods, the beach, the coastline and the animals that inhabit them are frequently flat out beautiful. The look of this film resembles that of a good nature documentary on cable TV, which reinforces the threat of Mother Nature to Peter and Carla. If it were all shot more cinematically, there'd be a phoniness to it that would undercut the suspension of disbelief. This feels like the real world, which makes Peter, Carla and the danger facing them seem more real as well.I've also got to give Jamie Blanks his due. The music here is great at establishing mood and the editing does yeoman's work at keeping the tension and pace up. It has to because Blanks' direction, while squirmingly on target with his portrayal of a last stand at rescuing a doomed marriage, stumbles over his inability to recognize two glaring weaknesses in Everett DeRoche's script.You've heard of a slow burn? Well, Nature's Grave barely simmers. The first hour or so of this thing is like the first 10 minutes of a normal horror movie. You know, the part where the filmmakers try to create a sense of normalcy before they vivisect someone with a Garden Weasel? Things unfold so leisurely, everything that happens becomes so much more obvious and contrived. There are a couple of scenes that almost come off like anti-littering commercials. The weirdly slack rhythm of Nature's Grave appealed to me, but you wouldn't need to have ADD to get a little antsy waiting for something to happen.The other problem is that, while Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan do some good acting here, Peter is a boorish asshole and Carla is a prickly bitch. These characters are not likable. They are not sympathetic. It's hard to identify with them and that might make it difficult for some viewers to appreciate the slowly growing sense of dread and peril in the movie. At the end, you really only care about whether their dog survives the weekend.Again, maybe I had prepared myself for some grand disaster, but I liked Nature's Grave. Its differences felt like they were deliberate and intended and I appreciated someone trying to create a horror environment and sensibility that didn't follow the same well worn path. This film isn't scary so much as it's creepy and that's a sensation that's often overlooked in this supercharged age. It's definitely not for everyone but some will quite enjoy it.

dhartio The film tells the story of a troubled couple in spending a weekend in a far-off beach, having to deal with the consequences of their reckless actions toward nature. The plot may seem a bit poor, but it does have its tense and intense moments. It's not scary at all, just somewhat eerie.While acting is pretty straight, characters are really poor. Carla, the wife, is just unbelievably annoying. Impetuous, whinger and harassing. Unbearable. Peter, the husband, is not much better, reckless and arrogant. They obviously don't get along very well, and, as soon as the problems start to show up, rising the mystery behind the plot, their reactions just overbore it. I would say more than a half of the film nothing happens other than their constant argument. Thus, the plot develops very slowly. Maybe if there were more characters it could have been much better. Their dog is far the most likable character on the entire film.Filming is o.k., it manages to rise the tension of the plot. Scenery is great, but it does get monotone after a while.

dovesrun I love Jim Caviezel having seen him in The Passion, Count of Monte Cristo and Bobby Jones. So I thought I'd rent this movie. What a waste of time and money. And I'm so disappointed in Jim. I would love to ask him - what was he thinking? The movie was terrible. I never did understand what the purpose was. It was physically painful to see Jim smoking, drinking and cussing. He was poorly cast in this movie. And the wife was a shrew. The only bright spot in the movie was the dog and then they left her in the car! If I had seen it in the theater, I would have left worrying about what happened to the dog. This movie must have had a terrible writer and director. All of the actors should have run far away. Save your money and time. My time would have been better spent getting a root canal.

dave-sturm What to do when your marriage is on the rocks? Go camping! That's what the attractive couple do in this remake of a Seventies Australian horror flick. Of course, they bring along a pile of expensive camping gear in their expensive SUV. Wouldn't ya know, that includes a spear gun and a scoped rifle. Hmmm.They are supposed to meet another couple. But on their way to the beach, they get lost and, ignoring all kinds of warnings, drive into a "keep out" forest. But there's a beach! Let's camp here! Let the bickering begin. Few couples are so in dire need of a divorce as these two. She hates nature. He is tone deaf to her feelings. She sprays insecticide on ant hills. He throws a beer bottle into the ocean and blow it up with his rifle. They have contempt for their natural surroundings. Hmmm.Things start to happen. Nature's revenge? Oh yes, but in subtle ways that serve to incite their nastiness to each other. What that other family camping a few miles away? And what about the dead dugong (manatee) on the beach? Is it really dead? This is not going to end well."The Long Weekend," also known as "Nature's Grave," is a well made and gripping horror flick, especially because most of it is filmed in broad daylight. It has tense set pieces and several jump moments.Mainly, it is one of a kind, although it borrows from "The Birds." It will keep your attention if you give it a chance.