Sugar Mountain (2016) - Twisted drama and thriller set in Alaska's winterish wilderness - 7/10 (14/09/20)

Sugar Mountain is a complex drama set in and around Alaska's winterish wilderness. It tells the story of two extremely indepted brothers who decide that one of them has to disappear on Sugar Mountain to miraculously come back ten days later in order to sell the fake survival story to a newspaper. The shallow plan however quickly spirals out of control. The brother on the mountain gets injured and fails to come home. The other one gets suspected of foul play and faces an obsessive police officer and a violent creditor. The girlfriend of the brother on the mountain starts to have feelings for the brother who has stayed in town. These numerous problems lead to an intense finale with numerous twists and turns.

This drama and thriller is very underrated and convinces on multiple levels. First of all, the landscapes are absolutely breathtaking. Secondly, the plot is clever, surprising and twisted from start to finish. The evolution of the different characters is also quite intriguing.

On the negative side, the story has a slow start and the opening thirty minutes are slightly plodding. The lead actors and actresses are solid but the superficial police officer portrayed by Cary Elwes and the violent creditor played by Jason Momoa are underwhelming. It's surprising that the latter two actors are probably the most famous ones involved in this film. It just shows that popularity doesn't always mean talent.

If you are looking for a balanced mixture of drama and thriller with some superb landscapes, then you should certainly give the underrated Sugar Mountain a fair try. The DVD comes along with an additional very good short movie entitled Cold War that tells the story of a Soviet soldier who is trying to escape to Alaska but meets a grisly fate. Ignore the negative ratings and give this creative and emotional movie a chance.