The Canadian wilderness is no place to get lost. That becomes apparent in "Backcountry," a tense thriller premiering at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8. Based on a true story, the movie revolves around Alex (Jeff Roop) and Jenn (Missy Peregrym), a young couple who become lost while camping. To make matters worse, they stumble into bear territory. As the tension mounts and their already fragile relationship begins to crack even more under the pressure, the two must somehow keep their wits about them in order to survive.
Back in November, 2013, Peregrym, Roop and writer/director Adam MacDonald took a much-needed break from shooting "Backcountry" before heading to Vancouver to complete production. The trio gathered in Toronto's Liberty Village to discuss the great outdoors, character friction and creating "the shower scene of bear attacks."
Moviefone Canada: You want "Backcountry" to relate to people. What's scary about being lost in the woods?
Adam McDonald: I think it's extremely frightening, because you're in an environment that you're not familiar with, especially if you come from the city. Most people live in the city. They're used to their computers, their laptops and their phones. Now, it's ridiculous. You put in your coordinates and put your phone up and you can go anywhere. In the wild, you don't know left from right, where you are or what you are going to encounter. Every moment is new. Just because we're on top of the food chain, doesn't mean we're removed from it.
Missy, are you a camper?
Missy Peregrym: No. When I was a kid and I was in high school, I would go camping. We're talking campsites. My camping included: "Oh, the waterslides are next door." I would do that again. I like safety in numbers.
When your characters get lost, how do they rise to the occasion or crumble under the pressure?
MP: They do both. There's a flip-out because it's terrifying and scary and it brings some hard truths out in this relationship. When you're put under that kind of pressure, it reveals true character.
AM: That's like in life. We all think we're going to act a certain way in a situation, until that situation arises. Then, even your friends, or anybody in the midst of that, you see what kind of person comes out. Sometimes it surprises you, and both of these characters are surprised what comes out of them.
Adam, you wanted to make "the shower scene of all bear attacks." Can you elaborate on what that means?
AM: Steven Spielberg did that with his T-Rex attack in "Jurassic Park." There's something in that which is so intense. There's no music. It's all sound design. You are in that environment. It's so scary. Everybody is quiet after that sequence. And the shower scene in "Psycho" is so iconic. Why not strive for that?
I love survival thrillers. I love horror movies. When they put too much in, it's overkill. "The Edge" was an influence in certain ways and I love that movie. The bear attacks were good, but none gave me that sick feeling like the T-Rex did. I wanted to be really aggressive with this film. I wanted nothing that was MOW [movie of the week]. Nothing that was just passable. I've been meditating and incubating on that scene for three years, to make the shower scene of all bear attacks, which we're about to do.
Is that composed of the thrill of the hunt or the actual mauling?
AM: It's a bit of both. It's very bad news.
Where does Eric Balfour's mysterious outdoorsman character, Brad, fit into all of this?
Jeff Roop: He's an element that takes the relationship between Alex and Jenn and turns it in a totally different direction. He almost shines a light on to it.
AM: I never want the audience to feel safe at certain moments. He adds to that. It's not like there's a rogue bear chasing them through this whole movie.
Missy and Jeff, when you signed on for "Backcountry," did you have any concerns about whether they would be using a real bear?
MP: That was one of the only questions I asked before doing this project. "How are you going to do this?" That's really a significant part. Well, it is and it isn't. The journey we go through because of being lost in the woods and our own challenges, that is interesting and terrifying. The way they're filming the movie, you're going to feel like you're going through the same thing.
AM: That was my biggest thing. I did not want to make a movie where we're watching people camp. I wanted to be in their backpacks. I wanted to be in their sweat. You feel it and smell it, so the bear attack can be different.
MP: The bear is the catalyst, but it's not the biggest part of this movie, which is why it's really fascinating to me.
How did filming on location further elevate the material?
JR: The first day I got there, we were out on location and there was a fork in the trail. That's all it was. We went out to this provincial park, got to the park and went, "That is the perfect fork." One way was just a little off and that's the way we take. There was something so special about finding that.
AM: I knew we were doing something right when the production manager flipped out that we were shooting so deep in the wilderness. It was for logistical reasons and totally legitimate.
MP: We had a bear visit our trailers. I don't know what else there is to say.
AM: As we were scouting, there was bear crap all over. If you're shooting a bear movie, you have to be in bear country.
MP: It was scary. I was nervous.
Missy, did being on location enhance your performance?
MP: I was nervous just about leaving the city. Jeff came to pick me up. I had never been to North Bay before. I was like, "What am I doing? This is my life. I am going to hate this. I'm going to a place I've never been before and filming in the woods." It's not like I thought there was going to be bears. When they told me, I was like, "Pardon me?"
I loved it. I loved being afraid for real. It was easy to use that. I didn't have to pretend. We didn't actually see a bear, thank God, and I'm really excited to work with the bear actor in Vancouver.
What were some of the biggest obstacles in shooting this movie? The cold weather must have been brutal.
MP: It was freezing. It added to the tension of what was happening. This is the hardest shoot I've ever done. I'm excited about it. I love it, but it's definitely been a challenge every day I've gone to work. There's either something that scares me about the scene I have to do or there's some kind of challenge with fighting through something physically to be present. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm saying this right now because I'm not there anymore. We're going to Vancouver where it's warmer. I've thawed out. It's OK.
"Backcountry" is screening at the Toronto Film Festival.
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