Preservation

Name: Preservation
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: January 9, 2015
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 44

2015

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Mixed or average reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Ratings

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4.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Ratings

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Preservation

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Movie Details & Credits

Orchard, The | Release Date: January 9, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: A camping trip for Mike (Aaron Staton) and his wife Wit (Wrenn Schmidt) takes an unexpected turn when they're joined by Mike's ex-military brother, Sean (Pablo Schreiber). With Sean unhinged from his stint in the military, and Mike distracted by career ambition, this was not the romantic getaway Wit was hoping for. But when the trio isA camping trip for Mike (Aaron Staton) and his wife Wit (Wrenn Schmidt) takes an unexpected turn when they're joined by Mike's ex-military brother, Sean (Pablo Schreiber). With Sean unhinged from his stint in the military, and Mike distracted by career ambition, this was not the romantic getaway Wit was hoping for. But when the trio is threatened by an unseen menace, and the hunters become the hunted, Wit must unleash her own animal instincts to survive.… Expand

Director: Christopher Denham

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

Joe Leydon

Jan 8, 2015

Preservation ultimately impresses as an arrestingly suspenseful thriller that takes clever narrative twists and turns while moving through familiar territory. Read full review

Sherilyn Connelly

Jan 7, 2015

Christopher Denham's Preservation is a violent yet agreeably goofy throwback to the survival-in-the-woods genre. Read full review

Robert Abele

Jan 29, 2015

Until its characters behave illogically in the third act and the direction shows suspense fatigue, Preservation displays a flinty resolve to be better than your average woodsy-nightmare thriller. Read full review

Nicolas Rapold

Jan 8, 2015

Like his ill-fated hunting party, Mr. Denham’s plans for his thriller don’t turn out quite the way he’d hoped. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Jan 13, 2015

Technological updating and a few clever narrative twists are the sole saving graces of the otherwise pedestrian Preservation. Read full review

Nick Schager

Jan 5, 2015

Chockablock with instances of characters not shooting, running, attacking, or sneaking away when they can or should, this thriller comes off like the world's most rigged game. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Jan 9, 2015

There are few surprises here after the narrative’s turn to survival horror as the film plods to its inevitable conclusion, and even that final shot feels unearned. Read full review

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User Reviews

inaneswine

Nov 14, 2017

Not an unenjoyable film, just a bit of a pointless one. Preservation takes a well-established horror premise of a camping trip gone awry and, well, does it again. What it has going for it is its cool soundtrack, its nice cinematography and its somewhat interesting characters. Other thanNot an unenjoyable film, just a bit of a pointless one. Preservation takes a well-established horror premise of a camping trip gone awry and, well, does it again. What it has going for it is its cool soundtrack, its nice cinematography and its somewhat interesting characters. Other than that, there's very little to distinguish it from any other slasher film set in the woods. Average.… Expand

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quincytheodore

Apr 6, 2015

Riddled with plot holes, implausibility and bad life decisions in general. Preservation is meant to deliver a strong message for a thriller movie, it could have done so if only the narrative made a lick of sense. There is a good set-up for horror as the direction is bizarre yet it'sRiddled with plot holes, implausibility and bad life decisions in general. Preservation is meant to deliver a strong message for a thriller movie, it could have done so if only the narrative made a lick of sense. There is a good set-up for horror as the direction is bizarre yet it's occasionally eerie. The worst obstacle for this film is logic, characters would to the stupidest things only to be granted plot armor at later scenes. It has little to no consistency on how the sequences actually play out as though the movie presents obscurity for the sake of being edgy or meaningful and ends up accomplishing none of them.

Three people go into the woods for a weekend of hunting spree. Sean (Pablo Schreiber) is a war veteran with dark past, he goes to the hunting trip with his brother Mike (Aaron Staton) who brings his wife Wit (Wrenn Schmidt). After a night, it has become clear that they are being hunted by unknown individual or individuals. The first half is about life philosophy lecture of hunting or being hunted. It's presented with cliché remarks and not quite appealing.

The three main actors are mainstay for TV series and supporting roles, they are pretty good for setting up the tone. The movie picks up pace very quickly as the trip turns grisly. Sadly, the scenes don’t have much clarity. At some points the protagonist would do highly questionable acts, ones with little chance of surviving, then it's the protagonist's turn to be dumb. They would have a hard time engaging the prey even though they are portrayed near unworldly just five minutes earlier, Jason Vorhees level of unworldly.

There are so many strange occurrences, such as its convenient traps, sudden manifestation of characters from thin air and steroid induced change for the protagonist. I understand it wants to display the incomprehensible nature of human and how a devastating event could change people, but the execution is all over the place. Whatever message it wants to convey would get lost if audiences struggle to digest the absurd plot devices.

It has a good concept to begin, but ultimately the poor execution baffles audience in the wrong way.… Expand

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markvantpark

Jan 19, 2015

Pretty ridiculous movie.
The Ninja Turtles, actually schoolboys of 15 , in the national park.
A scoutscamp game. Or was it paintball ?
Waste of time.

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