I was invited to attend the world premiere of Walking Against the Rain this weekend at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, as part of their Freight Fest 2022. Now I'm not a film critic, nor would I consider myself a movie buff. I am simply writing from my perspective as someone who has seen quite a bit of film, and is interested in this genre of movie.
Walking Against the Rain is a debut feature film of Scott Lyus, whom before this did a few short film including Silently Within Your Shadow, Echoes of the Passed and Black Mass. Set against the backdrop of Lake District, this film focuses on the characters of Blair (Sophia Eleni) and Tommy (Reese Douglas) whom are both strangers. They both managed to survive the post-apocalyptic world ravaged by beasts, and somehow got hold of each other via handheld transceivers and decided to meet up. The film tells of their journey and their struggle in having to survive in the post-apocalyptic world.
Personally for me , as a debut film Walking Against the Rain is a pretty good with excellent concept and casting, and decent storyline. It does not have a hollywood movie budget so we cannot have too high of expectations. There are several bloopers however that I managed to pick up. During the scene where Blair caught a wild rabbit, hung it on her rucksack and danced, I can clearly see the rabbit was a plush toy. Believe me, freshly killed rabbit would not move like that. Secondly, during the scene where Blair was attacked while sleeping in a car, she somehow managed to open the front passanger door to retrieve her rucksack when just the previous night the door was locked.
While the film itself is not too bad, the cinema however, is not one I would choose to sit in if I do not have too. That is because of how the cinema was built and setup, whereby you have to look up to the screen. It might not be problematic for most people but it can put a strain on your neck, making the experience somewhat less enjoyable. Though, it might just be me slowly transforming into a grumpy old man!
It was however fantastic to be able to listen from casts and crews of the film right after the show, where a Q&A session was also held. This is where we found out about the pretty awesome original music scores in the film by Mitch Bain. Reese and Scott also mentioned about having to share shooting location with Tom Cruise filming his latest Mission Impossible movie.
Best thing however was to get this pretty awesome lapel pin, which was given to attendees before the show begins. This though, is a dead giveaway as to what the beasts looked like. Apparently, we could have gotten a t-shirt as well but somehow they were not ready. When they do, could you send one my way, please? Extra small will do.