The Axiom (2019)

**_What happens to those people who go missing in remote National Parks?_** A sister and brother (Hattie Smith and Zac Titus) take some friends into a National Park to find their missing sister in the Far West, but very strange things start happening. Will any of them make it back alive? "The Axiom" (2018) is a cabin-in-the-woods flick at heart, but the antagonist isn’t the cliched variety, such as a masked psycho with a machete or Sasquatch. So it gets points for creativity and ambition, plus the filmmaking is all-around proficient, especially for an Indie. For instance, the sylvan cinematography and score are top-of-the-line. Armchair critics malign the acting, but I found them all convincing, particularly for no-names. Thankfully, there’s no woke crap. And Hattie Smith is worth the price of admission as the stunning protagonist, constantly prancing around in shorts. Brunette Nicole Dambro has a certain appeal too as Darcy. It’s superior to half-baked nonsense like “Monsters in the Woods” and better than "The Legend of Bloody Jack” and “Don’t Blink,” but not quite as effective as “Donner Pass” or “Wendigo” (2001). I’d put it on par with “Primal Rage.” I bring up those particular movies because there are bits reminiscent of them. The ideas presented are interesting, but there’s not enough elucidation. The viewer is left unsatisfied due to too many lingering questions, which I don’t want to reveal because I don’t want to spoil the viewing experience. It runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in Idyllwild, which is a 2-hour drive east of Los Angeles, an hour southwest of Palm Springs in the high country. GRADE: B-