Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

"Bridge to Nowhere" is a title of which I didn't knew it existed, but apparently it marks New Zealand's contribution to the hugely popular (during the 70's, 80's and still today!) sub genre of backwoods/survival horror. I can't give a proper reason why this movie ended up in total obscurity whereas other and similar contemporary movies easily obtained a cult following or classic status. It's not better than most backwoods horror movies, but it certainly isn't much worse, so I guess it's just a matter of bad luck, not enough word of mouth and/or saturation of the market. The concept and opening sequences are very formulaic, with five completely obnoxious and stereotypical eighties kids heading off in their ugly Jeep for a camping trip near the legendary "bridge to nowhere"; an actual unfinished building project in the middle of the wilderness. The group of kids is extremely loud and irritating – especially the self-acclaimed leader Leon – and their trip turns sour when they bump into the eerie redneck couple Mac and Lise. Mac doesn't tolerate Leon's lustful staring at Lise, even though she provokes it, and soon the group finds itself relentlessly pursued by a maniac with a shotgun. "Bridge to Nowhere" is somewhat disappointing in the blood & gore department but does feature a handful of suspenseful moments and an efficient use of marvelous filming locations. The three girls in the cast are quite yummy (that is: if you dig typical 80's chicks) and the always reliable Bruno Lawrence is a menacing backwoods-brute. "Bridge to Nowhere" is hardly fundamental viewing, but interesting enough if you're an admirer of the genre and/or Down Under exploitation.*note: review title refers to Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Under the Bridge".

A coed contingent of five rowdy street-savvy city kids venture into the remote woods for a weekend of fun and excitement; they get more than they bargained for when they run afoul of a mean, nasty, reclusive, obsessively self-reliant and misanthropic forest-dwelling psycho hermit (a first-rate rip-snorting villainous turn by the always excellent Bruno Lawrence, who confirms his scruffy status as the Down Under equivalent to Warren Oates) who most emphatically doesn't cotton to any meddlesome outsiders trespassing on his fiercely guarded cut off from the rest of civilization secluded sylvan terrain. Naturally, the hapless group must resort to ferocious animalistic tactics to fend off this dangerously antisocial "leave me the hell alone" loony. Tautly directed with considerable muscular élan by Ian Mune (who also co-wrote the lean, tight, compact script with Bill Baer), with breathtakingly lush and expansive outdoor photography by Kevin Hayward and an effectively spare, shuddery, skin-crawling synthesizer score by Stephen McCurdy, "Bridge to Nowhere" sizes up as a tense, edgy and gripping suspense thriller. Although Lawrence clearly dominates the film with his impressively fearsome portrayal of a cunning maniac who's not to be trifled with, the rest of the cast is equally on the money: gorgeous redhead Allison Routledge gives a warm, engaging performance as Lawrence's loyal, loving wife (Lawrence and Routledge previously acted together in the terrific science fiction end-of-the-world pip "The Quiet Earth"), Phillip Gordon is genuinely frightening as a hot-tempered brute, and Matthew Hunter, Margaret Umbers, Shelly Luxford and Stephen Judd are credible and sympathetic as the other scared, vulnerable, totally out of their depth backpackers. An undeservedly forgotten little sleeper that's eminently worthy of rediscovery.

This movie might catch your attention in the video store. Being a huge Bruno Lawrence fan, I liked it.Five city kids cross the land of a hermit while on a hiking trip. They muck up his property and sense of tranquility. This irks him, and he turns out to be a very vicious and dangerous person, especially when angry. He then proceeds to follow their every move and make the remainder of their vacation a living nightmare. Sound familiar? A basic plot for a lot of films, but this one was fairly well done. Bruno makes a decent bad guy. The relationship between him and his "girlfriend" and their characterizations could have been done better, but that's overlookable. The main focus is on the story and chases.The photography of the lovely New Zealand countryside in the film is a plus.See this one if you have time to kill.** 1/2 out of ****

Five teenagers head off into the forest on a weekend camping trip to see the "bridge to nowhere". Fighting starts within the group, but disagreements are forgotten when the hermit who lives across the bridge begins to hunt them down. The fight-for-survival plot is too familiar to make this truly riveting, but it's enjoyable nonetheless because of the excellent acting from all involved. Much to its credit this production resists the temptation of dramatic overacting, and the teenagers are thoroughly believable (although Leon is an annoying jerk that you start to hope gets killed fast). Hermit Mark and his companion Lise are more mysterious and erratic, and Lise's relationship with Mark is never really explained, which is somewhat disappointing but adds further interest. A bit of a nostalgia trip for me with the 80's clothing styles etc., and the NZ soundtrack (Annie Crummer, Car Crash Set etc) adds a nice local touch. A good rental choice for a rainy afternoon.