aka Kilo Two Bravo

I love it when a movie surprises me. Because I didn’t read the description too closely, I went into this one thinking it was a horror film. As it turns out, it’s a surprisingly effective, taut thriller. Now when I say  “thriller,” I don’t mean “action” or “horror” or any of the other genres that thrillers are often confused (or blended) with. This is a very simple story—a unit of young British soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan, guarding the Kajaki Dam. Two of them leave their post to set up a sniper’s nest to cover some suspicious locals who may be Taliban. On their way there, they realize that they’re smack dab in the middle of a minefield, likely the remnants of the Soviet offensive years before. And that’s it. Like I said, simple. But yet I can’t remember being as on-the-edge-of-my-seat tense since…well, since 1953’s The Wages of Fear, and Friedkin’s capable remake with Roy Scheider in the late 1970s, Sorcerer. Those films are about transporting crates of unstable dynamite over rough terrain, where every bump in the road could spell disaster. This film reminded me of those, in the way that they moved slowly, yet every minor detail took on an amplified significance, given both the risk to the characters, and the sheer luck (good or bad) of the draw in the way the results play out.

I didn’t recognize any of the actors, and they were often hard to understand fully, due to thicker accents and slang, but the performances were quite good, especially the jobs done by both Mark Stanley and David Elliot. Both men were just outstanding. Films such as this one don’t work if we don’t care about the characters, and all the performers work hard to be unique, and we do get to know—and care about—them.

Although I don’t want to say too much about the film, I will pass on a word of warning: there are some bloody moments. If you haven’t guessed by now, we’re dealing with mines, here, people. That was actually one of the things this film instilled in me—an awareness of just how awful it must be to live in a place where minefields abound. Soldiers move in, whether Soviets, Brits, or Yanks, and when all the tanks and trucks and choppers are gone…the mines are left behind. No markings, no neutralizing, no mercy.

It’s a great film, and I think this one will likely end up on my best of list. It’s a 2014 film but I believe it wasn’t released here until this year. If you don’t mind a little gore and a lot of nail-biting dread, check this one out if you can find it. And make sure to watch the credits.

IMDB gives it a 7.1. I’ll round it up to a 7.5. (running time 1:48)