Injured, alone & lost in the woods. Can Caroline survive? Find out in Distress Signals. Out now from Cockerel Entertainment |

Another evenings film watching and another indie gem discovered. I love it when that happens. Finding a gem of a film that many others may not have seen or heard of and then being able to share my thoughts and shine a spotlight on that film is the reason I created this site in the first place and in a world filled with IP film, franchise movies, and sequels (not that there is anything wrong with any of those. I like some of them) its great to find a standalone film and stick that ‘recommended movie’ badge upon it. Which is what Im doing here with Distress Signals from writer/directors Terence Krey & Christine Nyland

The very basic premise of Distress Signals is this. Caroline Hale (played by Christine Nyland) is out for a lone hike (she very stupidly wanders off from the rest of her hiking party to take a walk on her own) When the film starts we meet Caroline who is lying at the bottom of a ravine, having damaged her shoulder. She’s inured, she’s lost and barely has any phone signal.

Distress Signals is my type of movie. I really enjoy seeing filmmakers creating something with minimal cast members and minimal locations. It takes some very clever writing (in my opinion) and top notch acting to be able to pull off this type of film where the sole focus is on a single character who only has their surroundings to interact with. Often in films it doesnt quite work, but when it does (and it does in Distress Signals) then for me its a great piece of filmmaking and entertainment. There are other cast members in the film from time to time within the film (we are treated to some short flashbacks) however without delving into spoiler territory I am leaving out some of the praise I have for this film. But that’s okay there’s still a lot of praise to go around that I can talk about.

First up is Christine Nyland who not only stars in the film but also co wrote and co directed the film. Now the praise I have for Christine also goes to the other co writer and co director Terence Krey for writing Caroline as a ‘real person’ Ill explain what I mean by that. So often in these ‘lost in a rough terrain’ type movie the character quickly becomes an expert at survival or is played as a total idiot who has no clue. What Christine and Terence have done with Caroline is to have her be a ‘real person’ who sometimes makes really stupid decisions (such as wandering off from the rest of your friends in the woods) but also making very smart decisions (such as learning how to start a fire in a clearing in the hope that smoke will attract help) The sort of things we do in our lives, one day we make a smart move, the next we make a dumb one. Caroline is a ‘real person’ There’s one scene in the film where she has been lost for a while and knows that noones going to find her anytime soon so she decides to go and bathe her feet in a stream barefoot. Not a smart thing to do im sure we agree! However she then finds a piece of glass in the river (you can work out how she finds a piece of glass from my previous sentence) and then quickly learns that if she keeps hold of that glass, then she can use it to start a much needed fire. From a dumb decision comes a smart one. Very clever writing! and very realistic writing too.

The filming itself is excellent making great use of the Massachusetts woods and the scenery never once becomes ‘oh can we see something other than trees’ There are some lovely shots in the film and it does make you want to go for a forest walk (although not on your own!) In a world of a never ending supply of movies to watch. It is quite often difficult for a film to rise above the noise the mega blockbusters make, however if you do find yourself wanting to watch a film about a woman who finds herself lost in the woods, injured and alone then I do highly recommend Distress Signals. Of course if you (like me) really enjoy survival thrillers then Distress Signals is also for you. Its hugely important to support the independent filmmakers out there in movie land and I can happily give two thumbs up for Terence Krey and Christine Nyland for their film Distress Signals. I also give two thumbs up to Cockerel Entertainment who once again have another indie gem in there growing library of films showing on Prime Video. Cockerel Entertainment once again have given me a great evenings entertainment. Their batting average is great and they are one of my go to companies when I want to check out an indie film. Over the past few weeks and months Ive seen great films such as Deadly Justice, The Undertaker, The Nanny, Not Alone, Variant, Bodysnatch, and last month I watched Chained (which is great!) Keep up the great work Cockerel Entertainment and ill keep renting the titles!