The Dyatlov Pass Incident aka Devil’s Pass (2013)

(On Cable TV, May 2022) Message to filmmakers: if you ever find yourself helming a found-footage film, turn back – you may be getting lost. One of the few things distinguishing Devil’s Pass from so many found-footage films of the early 2010s is finding that it’s from once-A-list director Renny Harlin (whose career never really recovered from Cutthroat Island). Harlin’s filmography, of course, is a weird one – from 1990s Hollywood blockbusters to cheap horror/action B-movies to a few Chinese-language movies to, well, who can say – he’s not a director with a strong personal style, and his filmography screams work-for-hire. But with Devil’s Pass, he finds himself handling a wild take on the much-overhyped Dyatlov Pass incident in which Russian hikers died under (if you believe it) mysterious circumstances. What begins as conventional found-footage horror (with American adventurers/filmmakers heading over to the site of the incident for a documentary) eventually becomes a wild science fiction narrative with time loops and mutations. That’s not exactly bad… but I’m not sure the film’s tone is under control. Those who are exasperated with found-footage films will not be converted over by this one, which has enough out-of-focus shots, constant shrieking, annoying characters, dumb decisions and footage that can’t logically exist to reaffirm the film’s belonging to the subgenre. While the opening does raise the hope that the characters will be interesting enough to follow (not always a given in the found-footage method), the rest of the film pretty much dispenses with characterization except in providing different pitches for the inevitable constant screaming. Where Devil’s Pass does better than the average, however, is in Harlin’s experienced directing and in the bonkers concluding arc that goes the extra mile in providing an interesting conclusion. So interesting, in fact, that it unbalances the rest of the film – what were we doing losing our time with those losers if there was such a neat idea waiting at the end? Alas, while this may be enough to help Devil’s Pass float above many, many other found-footage horror films, it’s not quite enough to get it to a recommendation. It feels like a lot of work for not a lot of payoff, and something that could be easily summarized as “…and they all died in mysterious circumstances you won’t care about.”