This is perhaps a good point to insist that this film is a thriller and not a horror film, as my description may imply. This makes some scenes feel like actual gut punches as the walls close in on the two men. As often happens in Hitchcock or great film noirs, we feel ourselves thus sympathizing with people who really only have themselves to blame for their problems. The accident, and more importantly the ways in which the friends handle its aftermath, puts you in their shoes and even gets you to imagine that you might do the same thing yourself, even if this is something supremely stupid on the part of the characters. This scene aside, writer/director Matt Palmer expertly crafts the narrative to manipulate the audience’s sympathies. That is besides a climactic scene that is drawn out and excessive, traits I typically wouldn’t mind if they didn’t occur in what was up to this point a very efficient and lean thriller. Such is the feeling of impending doom in some scenes that the film can feel unbearable, but these are handled expertly to avoid wallowing in melodramatic dread.
As you can see from this synopsis, I think you should watch the film without knowing all the specific details, but suffice it to say that it is a pretty memorable film. As their attempts unravel, their worlds end up falling apart in spectacular fashion. Things go awry during the hunting trip, beginning with a horrible accident that the two then unsuccessfully try to cover up. The plot revolves around two “blokes” (played by Jack Lowden and Martin McCann) who go off on a hunting trip in a small Scottish town, right after one learns that he is going to be a father. Indeed the film is such a good thriller that I would even deign to use that adjective that I hate so much and call it Hitchcockian. Calibre is a gripping, dark thriller that features several stomach-churning scenes even while it shows little violence on screen.
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