Producing realistic survival films that take place in familiar locations is extremely hard. With a minimalist cast and low budget, it’s quite likely that the film will end up looking like an amateur director brought a low-end camera to a camping trip to remake Deliverance. With a bit of luck, talent and finesse, however, familiar environments can turn into an eerily plausible roller-coaster ride for viewers. With Backwater, director Christopher Schrack attempts to turn water into wine with a modest budget and a great script, but ends up with a passable thriller that devolves into a mediocre slasher-film by the end.

Backwater stars Liana Werner-Gray and Justin Tully as Cass and Mark, a couple on a camping trip in the woods. They initially enjoy the apparently peaceful wilderness, until a blood-curdling scream alerts them to something sinister going on deeper in the woods during a swim in the river. The couple eventually finds that they are not alone on their isolated vacation, which slowly turns into an unprecedented nightmare.

Slowly is the keyword here, as this film is the definition of a slow-burn thriller. Not much happens during the first act, other than setting up Mark and Cass’s relationship. Liana and Justin do a great job bringing believability to their roles, and do their best to make their characters seem interesting, but the setup still drags on quite a bit. Sadly, some later scenes also tend to go on for a lot longer than they should, ruining the pacing of what should have been some especially tense scenes. Nevertheless, the ending still packs a punch, though it doesn’t make up for a mostly forgettable experience and an overly long runtime.

Some other actors do show up for brief appearances as suspicious travelers and/or possible antagonists, but they don’t have much staying power other than the gruesome ending. Some of the dialogue seems forced as well, but these aren’t exactly A-listers performing for an academy award. The film would have been a lot more memorable if they had gotten a veteran villain-actor to play the lead antagonist, but considering the budget I can’t exactly blame them for not hiring Tony Todd or at least Lance Henriksen.

In any case, with this kind of film, the plot and characters aren’t usually the focus. It should be the solid direction that keeps the frights and drama rolling, making these perilous situations believable for viewers. Simply put, Schrack’s direction isn’t as suspenseful as it could or should have been. The wonky pacing and unenergetic action scenes screw with an otherwise solid script. Though there wasn’t anything about the film that was outright terrible, it’s sad to see this much wasted potential. However, this is only Schrack’s second feature film, which does give him the chance to improve in the future.

I wouldn’t mind re-watching Backwater on a lazy night in the future, but it’s just not a film that I would recommend for anything other than a casual view. The lead actors did add a lot to the experience, and the scenery was stunning at times, but that isn’t enough to warrant going through a tedious first half of the film and a confusing second. Backwater isn’t exactly a horror movie, so it won’t make camping scary again like Friday the 13th, but it will make you think twice before running off alone in the woods.