Review by Jon Donnis
A low budget climbing adventure horror film you say? Well, I don't mind if I do Sir.
A couple of friends decide to go rock climbing, but when Kelly (played by the lovely Brittany Ashworth) witnesses the murder of her best friend Sophie by a group of young men, she has to find a way to escape before she becomes their next victim.
It all starts when the two girls befriend a tight knit group of men, who have dark secrets that have cemented their bond. Of course, with young men and young women about, that means only one thing in a film like this, a really unlikeable man, who decides to try his luck and end up killing someone. A woman who witnesses the killing, and then a bunch of friends all sticking together and trying to get rid of the only witness, along with her video camera.
Now since the film is called "The Ledge" this means there is a mountain involved, so one way for Kelly to escape is to climb this mountain, because why wouldn't you! And that was the whole point of her visit to the location. You wouldn't want to come all this way, watch your bestie get murdered and then go home without climbing the mountain.
Most of the film revolves around Kelly stuck on the side of this mountain on a ledge, and the 4 men's attempts to get to her. Throw in some mountain snakes, idiots arguing with each other, and a genuine sense of peril, and you have the makings of a half decent thriller.
After a slowish start, as soon as we get to the main plot point, the killing of Sophie, the film really picks up. Now if you are anything like me, you are always distracted, on your phone etc, however, this film genuine grabbed my attention, and I put my phone down. Ok so some of the film is a bit cliché, and there are plenty of really dumb moments, but as I said earlier, there is a real sense of peril, whether that is a snake biting Kelly, or the one slip and you dead element of being on the side of a mountain.
The film is relatively short at 80 minutes, which is all it needs to be, so it never drags on. And although the ending is about as predictable as you can get, the film does do its job of capturing the viewers' attention. And with a relatively small cast, and low budget, I think that within the restraints of the production, it does a really good job.
The Good
A decent story, and some nice moments that will grab your attention.
The Bad
A few dodgy special effects ruin some serious moments.
Overall
A surprisingly good little film. With the restraints I mentioned in mind, I score The Ledge a perfectly passable 8/10
Out now on Digital, and you can pre-order the DVD release for the end of March at https://amzn.to/3HnwnRK
