What starts off looking like a potentially enjoyable nature film dealing with a bit of a disturbing story ends up a rather tedious adventure that exposes the worst of mankind while showing the best of the animal kingdom. The flight of a majestic eagle opens the film, and that grand spread of those long wings is truly haunting. But then we get to the disturbing aspect of the film. The presence of Donald Pleasance is truly creepy as the sickening obsession with his character to get his hand on some bald eagle eggs has him hiring Powers Boothe for the job, to venture Into the Woods, get to the top of a remote class and steal the eggs to bring back to him. When he gets there, he encounters single mom Kathleen Turner, reclusive Rutger Hauer and a group of hicks who end up stalking them, turning the expedition into a violent nightmare.
Yes, the countryside setting of this film is gorgeous, and there are a few breathtaking moments. They come across town apparently wounded deer, shot by a hunter and left for dead, and treated with a flask of alcohol and some rope used as stitches. The beautiful deer seems to realize that it is being taken care of and doesn't flinch during the procedure, allowing them to take care of it without trying to get away. But you don't find out if it did indeed got better, and the cutaway takes you to the next scene. The reclusive Hauer and Boothe get drunk in a cabin in the woods (I was never sure whose it was) and all of a sudden, Hauer is seen with a baby bear on his lap. How it got there is never explained, and when Bauer falls over drunk, the bear is still attached to his waste. A sex scene with Boothe and a local girl, Jayne Betzen, comes out of nowhere and really has no point in being included in the first place.
The way Pleasance speaks his lines is really disconcerting, and he plays his part as if he's a villain in a James Bond movie. Certainly, he's present to represent an entitled billionaire who gets what he wants without regard to the world around him, and he's never out in nature to be taken care of it. When Boothe calls him in regards to a murder charge that is tossed at him regarding the battle he had with the bumpkins stalking him, Pleasance basically tells him to get out of that no matter what it takes and go on with his mission. Turner is always worth watching, and her kid is cute too, but that's not enough to explain some of the missing footage from the missing reel that never arrived. One rule of thumb for filmmakers. If you don't have the whole film as intended, don't call it a done project. So much potential wasted because of behind-the-scenes business that was never completed.
Yes, the countryside setting of this film is gorgeous, and there are a few breathtaking moments. They come across town apparently wounded deer, shot by a hunter and left for dead, and treated with a flask of alcohol and some rope used as stitches. The beautiful deer seems to realize that it is being taken care of and doesn't flinch during the procedure, allowing them to take care of it without trying to get away. But you don't find out if it did indeed got better, and the cutaway takes you to the next scene. The reclusive Hauer and Boothe get drunk in a cabin in the woods (I was never sure whose it was) and all of a sudden, Hauer is seen with a baby bear on his lap. How it got there is never explained, and when Bauer falls over drunk, the bear is still attached to his waste. A sex scene with Boothe and a local girl, Jayne Betzen, comes out of nowhere and really has no point in being included in the first place.
The way Pleasance speaks his lines is really disconcerting, and he plays his part as if he's a villain in a James Bond movie. Certainly, he's present to represent an entitled billionaire who gets what he wants without regard to the world around him, and he's never out in nature to be taken care of it. When Boothe calls him in regards to a murder charge that is tossed at him regarding the battle he had with the bumpkins stalking him, Pleasance basically tells him to get out of that no matter what it takes and go on with his mission. Turner is always worth watching, and her kid is cute too, but that's not enough to explain some of the missing footage from the missing reel that never arrived. One rule of thumb for filmmakers. If you don't have the whole film as intended, don't call it a done project. So much potential wasted because of behind-the-scenes business that was never completed.