This is coming from a NZ'er, so I've seen a fair bit of films from this country in my time, saying that, most of them have completely bored me, or irritated me.
However, I was so very pleasantly surprised with Hidden, I was impressed with how good they managed to make the film on as I would suspect a low budget, of course having the scenery is a bonus.
Another thing as well, most of the actors I had never heard of before, I think it might have been only two people from shortland street (wow!). Which in my opinion was very surprising. Both people acted very superficial and professional.
I was astounded at the storyline, the whole plot kept me captivated because I had absolutely NO idea what was going on, the characters were special in one way or another, you got to understand them well and sympathize if they got hurt or died.
Some even gave me the creeps, the guy with the sore lip especially confused me, when I saw him do the whole act around the tree part I was thinking "oh no, he's going to end up an alien, just like that movie where the woman loses her son and everything's a mystery and suddenly there's people jumping through ceilings." But I soon realized it was nothing like that, and it had a much more appealing twist to it.
One thing that worried me was there was barely no communication with the group of campers, but in the end it didn't bother me because just their actions, the close-up's of the girls faces, the expressions, it was incredibly masterful and artistic. It was like a new kind of interaction.
I loved this movie, the odd feeling of confusion it gave me at the end, that almost uncomfortable sensation, it's wonderful when a film makes you feel so much.
Whoever compared this to the Blair witch project must have been on crack, and I am bewildered to the fact it has such a low rating. This is one of the best movies NZ has ever made.