Who is afraid of the big bad wolf? There are apparently many ways to die in the wilderness, being eaten by a wolf is not the least of them. The Grey, based on the short story Ghost Walker by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers, who also co-wrote the screenplay together with director Joe Carnahan, is a story of survival and defiance, as well as a character study, set against an Alaskan-like backdrop. It tells the story of a group of plane crash survivors, trying to make their way back from the desolated crash site, while fighting the elements. It quickly becomes clear the group will lose members, so it’s no surprise when one by one survivors perish, aside of the manner of their deaths. But what makes The Grey appealing is that rather than focusing on being a sort of a wilderness horror-thriller, it actually takes the time to make us care for the characters. It also score highly on using visuals on the account of dialogues. The film could have been better with even less words and definitely less showing of the wolfs – after all, imagination has far greater powers than what we can see. Still, Liam Neesen supported by a good cast, makes for a convincing group leader, and Joe Carnahan’s direction, supported by good camera work by Masanobu Takayanagi helps make The Grey an engaging film. It is a film that project a raw sense of wilderness not seen on the screen since Into the Wild.