After a container washes up on a non-descript British beach, some strange things start to happen at a nearby housing estate. Before you know it the military is called in and sections off the estate from the rest of the outside world. Without knowing what’s going on, it’s up to Beth and her lover work to find out where Beth’s Daughter is and hopefully manage to escape the military quarantine and the elusive creature that’s killing everybody.
Salvage is a very tense movie that relies strongly on a psychological element to keep the suspense and terror in full swing. We don’t often get to see the monster in this flick, most of the tension is built up around the characters and their situation. The military aspect is essentially what keeps the movie together, their blockade of the housing estate prevents anyone getting in or out keeping the isolated/ ‘spam in a can’ nature of the movie kicking. Salvage is a nice little gem indeed, it shows that you don’t need mega bucks to make a successful and relatively original horror movie in this day and age. Hollywood take note.
The actors bring the movie to life also, Neve McIntosh’s performance of Beth forms the main character interest as she searches the housing estate cautiously trying to avoid the military looking for her daughter. She brings across the desperation of her character convincingly and genuinely. Most of the other actors are decent in their roles also, the military guys are brilliant and show a unconscionable grit that helps raise up the movie. All in all, the acting is perfectly solid and does the movie proud.
Next aspect, gore; whilst being fairly minimal, what we do see is done well. Lots of red stuff on walls, so it’s easy to see, even in the early stages of the movie that something nasty is prowling around the estate, something best avoided. This helps to reinforce the tension and the shocks that the movie springs out here and there. In the end i strongly recommend Salvage, it’s a gritty, suspenseful, reasonably original horror flick that includes solid acting. The pacing of the movie is spot on and never seems to drag, it leads us from one shock to another in good fashion. Definitely one to be put on the ‘to watch’ list.
Movie Details
Director: Lawrence Gough
Writers: Lawrence Gough, Colin O’Donnell, Alan Pattison
Actors: Neve McIntosh, Dean Andrews, Trevor Hancock, Linzey Cocker
Release Year: 2009