The stripped-down minimalism of the tale adds to its intensity, every moment contributing something essential, be it advancing the story or racking up the tension. A standout scene in a pub dining room that in any other situation would be a simple conversation is instead so charged with menace it threatens to explode at any moment. The paranoia of the two friends alters the perspectives of innocuous encounters when added to the implacable stoicism of the highlanders that makes it impossible to tell exactly how much they already know or have figured out about what’s happened. The story plays out pretty much exactly as you’ve likely imagined it will from the above synopsis, but in spite of the familiarity it remains tense and foreboding, especially when a way out that avoids tragedy begins to look increasingly unlikely. The area’s populace are not so much the stereotypes as seen in the likes of Deliverance or Straw Dogs, but people living harsh and sparse existences as they desperately try to hold onto a way of life fast becoming untenable in the swiftly advancing and homogenising world. From then on, paranoid intensity never relents as the tranquil idyll of the Highlands’ untamed wilds is transformed into a desolate prison of inescapable wilderness. After the two friends make their fateful decision, any hope of an easy ride or explaining things away is obliterated. What few UK equivalents there are, such as Doghouse or Inbred, are usually played for comedy, but in stark contrast Calibre is unremittingly grim.
As suspicion descends on the village, the already untrusting locals make the lads’ stay as unpleasant as possible as their secret is threatened with being uncovered.Ĭountry yokels versus city folk is typically an American setup, since the country’s sprawling geography makes it easier to have pockets of the nation rural enough to lack police presence and maintain a sense of isolation from the rest of the world. Edinburgh friends Marcus and Vaughn head north on a hunting trip to the Highlands to celebrate the latter’s impending fatherhood, but the trip soon turns deadly after they decide to cover up a tragic accident.
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