A vacation is always filled with the pleasant anticipation of adventures, meeting new people, and relaxing in the beautiful corners of the world. But even in paradise-like places danger may lie in wait – and proof of this is a selection of films whose heroes had to save their own lives.
«The Shallows»
- USA, 2016
- Director – Jaume Collet-Serra
- Starring – Blake Lively
What it's about: the main heroine heads to a deserted beach to surf alone. By chance she interrupts the meal of a huge great white shark. Having barely made it to a small islet far from shore, the young woman tries to figure out how to survive. After all, the water keeps rising, the patch of land shrinks, and the shark circles around the shallows in anticipation…
Age rating: 16+
«Turistas»
- USA, 2006
- Director – John Stockwell
- Starring – Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde
What it's about: a group of friends spends a fun vacation in Brazil. One day they meet some locals, who invite them to a party. And in the morning the friends discover that their belongings – along with their money and passports have been stolen. The kids try to make it to the city, but a group of criminals is hot on their heels. The gangsters kidnap people in order to harvest their organs for sale…
Age rating: 18+
«Hostel»
- USA, Czech Republic, 2005
- Director – Eli Roth
- Starring – Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson
What it's about: three friends, in search of romantic adventures, set off on a tour of Europe. They make a stop in Bratislava, where they meet some charming girls. Without even suspecting it, the guys fall into a deadly trap. In the city there operates a secret club for wealthy sadists, who for large sums of money «buy» victims and torment them…
Age rating: 18+
«EuroTrip»
- USA, 2004
- Director – Jeff Schaffer, Alec Berg, David Mandel
- Starring – Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg
What it's about: young Scott heads to Europe to find a pen pal whom he accidentally offended. He wants to apologize to her and tell her about his feelings. The guy is accompanied by a trio of friends – the whole company gets into hilarious situations in various countries.
Age rating: 16+
«A Perfect Getaway»
- USA, 2009
- Director – David Twohy
- Starring – Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich
What it's about: newlyweds spend a romantic honeymoon. The protagonists meet another couple and decide to head to a local beach famous for its beauty. But somewhere nearby brutal killers are at work – and according to police information, this is also a couple – a man and a woman…
Age rating: 16+
«Wolf Creek»
- Australia, 2004
- Director – Greg McLean
- Starring – John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath
What it's about: by the way, the film is based on a true story. Three friends go on a trip across Australia to see a crater from a meteorite that once fell. They have no idea that Australia's most notorious maniac, Ivan Milat, lives near this place…
Age rating: 18+
«The Ruins»
- USA, Germany, Australia, 2008
- Director – Carter Smith
- Starring – Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone
What it's about: two couples, while vacationing in Mexico, head into the depths of the jungle in search of an ancient Indian pyramid. Here, according to legend, there are cursed places that the locals advise not even to approach. But the friends, disregarding the superstitions, decide to climb to the top of the pyramid. Only they can no longer get back down from there…
Age rating: 16+
«Brokedown Palace»
- USA, 1999
- Director – Jonathan Kaplan
- Starring – Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale
What it's about: two school-graduate friends go to Thailand to relax before starting college. Meeting a charming stranger turns into a tragedy for the girls – both are detained at the airport with drugs in their backpacks, which the guy planted on them. The friends receive a life sentence in a local prison that more closely resembles a large cattle yard. They have to survive in horrific conditions and hope that their families and lawyers will manage to get them out…
Age rating: 12+
«Cold Prey»
- Norway, 2006
- Director – Roar Uthaug
- Starring – Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Rolf Kristian Larsen
What it's about: in Russian distribution this film was released under the title «Ostatsya v zhivykh». The picture has three parts in all, but the most spectacular – is the first. A group goes skiing in the snow-covered mountains of a small Norwegian town. One of the friends suffers a severe injury, and the kids are forced to look for shelter nearby. The place of refuge turns out to be an abandoned hotel with a very bad reputation…
Age rating: 16+
«In the Blood»
- Great Britain, Puerto Rico, USA, 2013
- Director – John Stockwell
- Starring – Gina Carano, Cam Gigandet
What it's about: Ava, together with her husband, spends a romantic vacation in the Caribbean Islands. One day the young woman's husband mysteriously disappears. Everyone who saw him with Ava tries to prove that such a person doesn't exist at all. The heroine launches her own investigation…
Age rating: 18+
