By Barney S. Horner
Corridor Inc. Exclusive

February 3, 2012 - Like all films about survival, it’s a foregone conclusion that whomever is most prominently featured on the one-sheet – in this case, the fearsome Liam Neeson – is the only character who will make it to the end of the film.

"The Grey" (dir. Joe Carnahan)

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“The Grey” is no exception to this rule, but unlike most horror thrillers that tout their death scenes as the main attraction (the “Final Destination” and “Saw” series), “The Grey” is not about dying. It’s about death and acceptance of the inevitable, and it’s a heartbreaking and exhilarating journey.

Neeson stars as veteran hunter Ottway, doing his best to lead his fellow oilmen to safety – and away from a vengeful wolf pack – after their plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. As a man nearly resigned to death and struggling with his own inner conflict, Neeson gives his most emotional and physically demanding performance in years.

The other six survivors make up an excellent supporting cast, covered up so heavily with snow and clothing that they’re practically unrecognizable as movie stars.

At first, director Joe Carnahan (“The A-Team,” “Narc”) seems to establish stereotypes – the tough-talker, the joker, the religious one – but these stock personalities fade away, and there’s a noticeable change in each character as the men begin to focus less on how they were and more on how they need to be as they face certain death.

The cliché sympathy monologues come in from almost all of them, Neeson included, in an effort to show what each man longs to see or feel once more, and as always, these moments feel somewhat forced. But Carnahan quickly and casually steers back to the entertaining dynamic of men being men – joking, arguing, encouraging.

There are a few laughs – necessary in such situations to lighten the mood – but otherwise Carnahan deftly moves from action to drama, chaos to silence, and the tension he carefully builds is palpable. Still, it’s a horror thriller, and the thrills and scares are plentiful. The jump scares are perfectly executed, and the action sequences – especially the initial crash, seen from inside the cabin – will have you holding your breath.

Showing Neeson (now a household, butt-kicking name) with broken bottles strapped to his knuckles as a makeshift weapon, the advertisements prepare you for a movie that “The Grey” most definitely is not. It’s a thoughtful, savagely beautiful, intimate and honest portrayal of men coming to terms with the end.

Coming to theaters this weekend is a survival tale of a different sort, as Daniel Radcliffe makes his first post-“Harry Potter” feature film appearance in the starring role of “The Woman in Black.”

Based on the 1983 Susan Hill novel of the same name, Radcliffe stars as a young lawyer investigating the presence of a scorned woman’s vengeful ghost in a remote English village. Early reviews are mostly positive, most noting that it’s an effective and atmospheric horror film (fortunately, with minimal in gore) even with its lack of depth.

Also in theaters is “Chronicle,” a new take on the superhero origin story. Three high school students are mysteriously granted superpowers, but instead of becoming champions of justice, they do what any teenage boy would do – mess with people and hook up with girls.

Reviews are very strong for this debut feature from director Josh Trank and writer Max Landis (son of John Landis), but audiences should be aware it’s mostly shot in the “found-footage” point-of-view documentary style that first became popular with 2008’s fantastic “Cloverfield.”

Another feature film debut comes from Dee Rees, whose “Pariah” opens this weekend at Baltimore’s Charles Theater. A Sundance hit, the film tells the coming of age tale of a teenage Brooklyn girl with conflicting identities as she risks friendship and family in her search for sexual expression.

For the family is “Big Miracle,” an “incredible true story” presumably in the inspirational vein of last year’s “Dolphin Tale” and the “Free Willy”s and “Flipper”s of yesteryear. An Alaska-based news reporter (John Krasinski of “The Office) teams with his Greenpeace volunteer ex-girlfriend (Drew Barrymore) to save a family of whales in the Arctic Circle.

And lastly, the Indian film “Agneepath” opens this weekend. A remake of the acclaimed 1990 film in premise and name only, “Agneepath” tells the story of a young man returning home to seek revenge for his father’s lynching.

It’s a mystery to me which of these will come out as the box office victor come Monday, but with family films like last year’s “Courageous” coming out of nowhere, “Big Miracle” could pull of a big surprise.