A group of hikers lost on the Appalachian Trail stumble across an ancient secret that threatens their very survival in Eric Blue’s Beacon Point. Blue, who makes his feature film directorial debut with Beacon Point, also penned the screenplay. Rae Oliver, Jon Briddell, Eric Goins, Jason Burkey, RJ Shearer, Takara Clark, Megan Gallacher, Jason MacDonald, Jayson Warner Smith, Randall Taylor and Paisley Scott star in this film that tells of land taken over by dark entities when the Cherokee were forced off their land.
The first scene of the film follows two men hunting something deep in the Appalachian Mountains. We don’t see what they are hunting, but those are no regular hunting rifles they are carrying.
We next see Drake (Jon Bridell), a wilderness Ranger with a troubled past. As he checks in at the Ranger station, his boss confronts him about something that he left off his resume, the fact the he’s a felon. An argument escalates into a struggle, leaving his boss dead. Not knowing what else to do Drake is fleeing when he is stopped by a group of hikers who have booked a ten day guided trip. Drake leads the group into the woods, not knowing that some of them would never return. Once on their path the hikers begin to question Drake’s leadership and after only a few days they come across a field used as a Cherokee burial ground. There Dan, one the hikers, finds a grave marker and pockets several odd stones. Soon some of the group begin to fall sick and have strange dreams. Something is after them, is it the spirits of shadow people who claimed the land when the Cherokee were forced off their land or is something from out of this world?
The first portion of Beacon Point concentrates on the suspicion between the hikers and their guide. But the group is unaware of what happened at the Ranger station. There are hints in the movie that the government is involved with the strange happenings on the mountain. There were several questions left unanswered, what killed the men in the woods, what was the illness the hikers were infected with and how Zoe’s (Oliver) father was connected to it all? I have to assume that the film ended this way because they wanted to leave it open for a sequel (I’m guessing). Over all, it was an interesting story. The cast did a pretty good job. But I would have liked to have seen more storytelling and less complaining from the characters. My verdict, Beacon Point is worth watching.
Beacon Point premiered at TLC Chinese Theater on Friday June 10th. A release date has yet to be announced.
