Mike Flanagan Praises This Streaming Survival Thriller: “Bleak… profound”
We recently shared how Doctor Sleep and Midnight Mass filmmaker Mike Flanagan praised Damien Mc Carthy’s Oddity, one of the scariest movies of the year. Flanagan called Oddity, “a masterclass in dread, atmosphere, and tension.” He’s absolutely right, and if you don’t believe me, you can check out Oddity for yourself over on Shudder. A little earlier in the year, however, Flanagan also praised another, forgotten monster movie. How many of you remember Liam Neeson in The Grey? Mike Flanagan does, and he thinks you should watch it. Now that the film is streaming free on Tubi, you can check it out for yourself.
Per Tubi: Plane crash survivors in Alaska, led by a skilled huntsman, battle freezing weather, injury, and wolves on their dangerous trek toward safety.
The Grey isn’t quite the ferocious monster movie it first appears to be. In a lot of ways, it’s a thematic cousin to Adam Green’s Frozen, weird as that might sound. Wolves are scary, and while The Grey is commonly introspective, it knows when to bite. When it does, it never lets go. That’s probably why Mike Flanagan remains a huge fan of the 13-year-old film.
In a Letterboxd review of The Grey over the summer, Mike Flanagan wrote, “I don’t know what it is about this movie that I find so haunting and affecting, but it remains one of my favorites. Joe Carnahan’s film is BLEAK, and feels like a simple enough story about a group of plane crash survivors pursued by wolves, but there is something else at work here that I find very profound.”
Flanagan is absolutely right. For all the survival thrills and chills, The Grey is deceptively affecting, especially for fans of Liam Neeson’s trademark brand of action thrillers.
Mike Flanagan continued, writing, “There is a reason the film ends in the exact moment that it does: life is the fight, not the outcome. And sometimes the fight is the only thing that matters, even when there is no hope, help, or witness. Love this movie.”
You can check out his review in full here. Once you’ve done so, you can head over to Tubi where The Grey is currently streaming free. You won’t regret it.
What do you think? Are you a fan of The Grey? Any interest in checking it out now that Mike Flanagan has recommended it? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
