So long as you don’t take the concept too seriously, and just enjoy it as a modestly budgeted entertainment, The Stalking Fields is a well-paced action thriller with some twists and memorable characters.
Here’s the set up: There’s a super- secret program being used by military contractors to rehabilitate soldiers with PTSD, with the idea that the military needs these otherwise skilled warriors back in action.
The answer? They round up people to be human targets to be released into the woods for the soldiers with PTSD to hunt down and kill. To temper the barbarism that concept evokes, it’s made clear that these civilians (all dressed in matching blue sweatshirts) are people who have done bad things in their pasts. Crime records, etc.
Huh?
Being honest, this idea did not compute with me. You’re going to take a PTSD patient, set them loose to kill civilians in a forest, and that’s going to make them ready to “get back on the horse?” Well, um, at least that concept gets modified with some second half reveals – but you’ll just have to go with it until then.
At the center of the story is Woodman (Sean Crampton) who is a good guy and a great soldier, but he’s haunted by a tragic scenario that is intermittently revisited in flashbacks. He’s a sting, quiet type and completely believable as the type he’s playing.
I will withhold the other character disclosures for you to see. It’s a quick hour and a half – some decent action and a hot Israeli villainess (Rachael Markarian) who is the brain of the program and NOT to be messed with.
The Stalking Fields is now on all Digital Platforms