Quicksand
Husband and wife healthcare workers attending a conference in her home country of Colombia, Josh and Sofia have failed to make their host Marcos aware of certain relevant facts relating to their stay, that she has been vegetarian for several years, that he no longer drinks alcohol, and that they are in the process of splitting up, foreknowledge of any or all of which might have made the opening night dinner and drinks less uncomfortable.
Their presentations not due until the end of the conference, Josh had planned on using the downtime to go hiking with Marcos but when that falls through due to his schedule Sofia expresses her intent to go alone, Josh agreeing to accompany her on a trek which is forestalled by an incoming storm then further complicated when they find an armed man trying to break into their car, forcing them to flee back into the rainforest.
The civilised man finding himself in a hostile environment he has underestimated a long running theme of thrillers and horror movies, Quicksand is directed by Andres Beltran and stars The Breach‘s Allan Hawco as Josh and Narcos‘ Carolina Gaitán as Sofia, two people whose supreme overconfidence means they don’t even feel the need to wear seatbelts on narrow winding passes shrouded in mountain mist.
Sofia stumbling into quicksand and Josh leaping in after her rather than taking off his jacket to throw her a lifeline, trapped together in the endemic threat which seemed to feature endlessly in American action television of the sixties and seventies but strangely nowhere else other than the premiere episode of Damien, the bickering couple then proceed valiantly through every other cliché which writer Matt Pitts can reasonably apply to their situation.
Having already argued loudly when others might have thought it prudent to avoid attracting the attention of the gunman, also lining up to emphasise their bad life choices are snakes and swarms of fire ants, Sofia taking the opportunity when Josh empties his secret bottle of vodka over her to disperse the stinging insects to criticise his drinking habits; perhaps not the best use of her time other than he has no option other to bob beside her and listen, but these are people who were earlier outwitted by tree branches. Twice.
The inescapable situation presumably meant to represent their dissolving marriage, trapped together for better or worse until death do they part, be it by drowning, snake venom or slow starvation, with Sofia displaying a propensity to panic which fits badly with her medical training and a habit of finding new reasons to accuse in everything Josh says, Quicksand is as exhausting for the viewer as the victims with the most merciful exit likely the swiftest.
Quicksand will be available on Shudder from Thursday 14th July
