IMDb reviews From IMDb
★ 4 / 10
The premise of director Andres Beltran‘s “Quicksand” is
Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
The premise of director Andres Beltran‘s “Quicksand” is the stuff of nightmares. This survivalist suspense thriller follows an estranged American couple…
The premise of director Andres Beltran‘s “Quicksand” is the stuff of nightmares. This survivalist suspense thriller follows an estranged American couple (Carolina Gaitan, Allan Hawco) who, on the brink of divorce, travel to Bogotá, Colombia for a work conference. With a little downtime, they decide to take a hike in the rainforest despite the warnings of locals. A surprise storm causes them to become trapped in a pit of quicksand underneath the dense jungle canopy. Unable to move, their situation goes from bad to worse as they are paid a visit from a resident venomous snake.
It’s a simple story that’s terrifying to think about, and the film does a good job at setting up the narrative with a drama-heavy opening half hour. This isn’t an action packed film by any means, but more of a slow burn relationship drama with the added stressor of being stranded in quicksand with limited means of avoiding a deadly snake. The story is well thought out, and Hawco and Gaitan give solid enough performances that make you believe their situation is dire.
This isn’t a bad movie, but it does have its share of problems. The cinematography is dark and murky, which isn’t pleasurable to watch. It fits the bleak jungle setting, but there’s only so much viewers can enjoy about a drab palate of deep browns and drab grays. Some of the scenes are so dark that it’s difficult to see the action. The ending is excessively drawn out too, and there’s no real payoff. Although overall this is an disappointing film, it gets a lot of things right.
Low budget thrillers belong to a genre that often doesn’t require particularly strong direction, acting, or a massive amount of financial backing to make an effective movie, and that’s exactly what “Quicksand” is: a passable movie with a killer story that’s simply not good enough.
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★ 2 / 10
It isn't quick, and there isn't any sand...
wwejournalist
I've seen quite a few Shudder-produced films and for the most part, without sugar coating it, they've been a load of old tripe. This one seemed like an…
I've seen quite a few Shudder-produced films and for the most part, without sugar coating it, they've been a load of old tripe.
This one seemed like an interesting concept, if only to see how they could make quicksand seem like a credible and entertaining threat. As it transpires... they didn't.
The plot surrounding the titular quicksand isn't anywhere near as thick as the mud the couple inevitably get stuck in (that's right, in a film called quicksand, it isn't even quicksand they get stuck in, but mud) with them on the verge of divorce.
The pair go on a hiking trip, get robbed, bolt headfirst into a bog and get stuck. Well, the wife does and the husband has to dive in to save her when she goes under, something that doesn't happen again in the film, even when they pass out or panic, begging the question why it happened in the first place.
The couple end up having deep and meaningful conversations while up to their neck in mud and corpses, in between fighting off threats like ants and snakes.
It's the snake that creates the most bizarre moment of the picture though. Despite being petrified of them, AND it already biting her husband, the wife decides she needs the snakes body to escape. Now, in order to lure it closer to her... she throws various objects at it.
Rather than flee in the opposite direction, as nearly all animals would do when a random flashlight smashes down just next to them, the snake takes it upon itself to find out who threw it and even has the wherewithal to sneak up on her when doing so.
It was at this point I zoned out, and nothing I saw after it could convince me this film was worth watching.
Another shudder 'classic'.
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★ 2 / 10
It was a sinker and a stinker...
paul_haakonsen
Well, who would have figured that getting stuck in quicksand would be so unfathomably boring? When I sat down to watch this 2023 thriller from writer Matt…
Well, who would have figured that getting stuck in quicksand would be so unfathomably boring?
When I sat down to watch this 2023 thriller from writer Matt Pitts and director Andres Beltran, I had never actually heard about the movie. But I will say that the synopsis for the movie was interesting enough. However, I scrolled through some of the reviews here on IMDb, and it wasn't all praise and admiration for the movie.
Yet, I opted to watch "Quicksand" on the account of the taste of the reviewers that I had read differed from mine. But I have to say that writer Matt Pitts put together a very bland and boring script for director Andres Beltran to bring to life on the screen.
I must admit that I never felt that the Sofia (played by Carolina Gaitan) and Josh (played by Allan Hawco) characters were ever in any real danger in the movie. And it seemed like they could just have turned around and easily pulled themselves out of the mire. It just never came off as being a dangerous situation and the wooden acting and cringeworthy dialogue just didn't help to convince me.
The movie has a very small cast ensemble, which means that there was all the more pressure laying on the few performers on the cast list. Sadly, however, they just weren't given any chance to carry the movie, because the script, the dialogue and the character gallery had the appeal of sitting down to watch grass growing. Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Quicksand".
I didn't stick around to finish watching the movie, because at the 56 minute marker, I was just bored to tears. And I had even dozed off once throughout the course of those 56 excrutiatingly long minutes. And believe you me, when i say that I am never returning to finish watching the rest of "Quicksand".
My rating of "Quicksand" lands on a two out of ten stars.
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TOMATOMETER
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4.3/10
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All involved in this movie are all IDIOTS, including shrudder. Total waste of time, efforts and budgets.