Sasha goes to Australia to climb, kayak and spend time alone after losing her partner, Tommy. She meets Ben, a local who offers advice about where to camp. Then he takes out a crossbow and tells her to run. He is going to hunt her, and she has until his music stops to get away.
That is the situation Charlize Theron faces in Apex, an English-language survival thriller on Netflix. Taron Egerton plays Ben, whose cheerful behavior becomes frightening once Sasha knows what he wants. The chase has some exciting escapes, especially on the river. But Sasha's attempts to get free keep failing, and eventually the repeated captures become frustrating.
Sasha is convincing when she has to climb or swim
Before the hunt, we see Sasha and Tommy on a dangerous climb in Norway. Eric Bana plays Tommy, who wants to stop taking these risks. Sasha wants to keep climbing; Tommy wants them to turn back. Their disagreement tells us something useful about both people before the accident that leaves her alone.
In Australia, Sasha still takes chances. She continues her trip despite warnings about going alone and notices photographs of missing people. It can be annoying to watch her ignore these signs, but the opening gives her behavior some context: danger was already part of her life with Tommy. She is experienced outdoors, but she does not always make careful decisions.
Theron is particularly good when Sasha has an immediate problem to solve. On a cliff, she has to find somewhere to put her hands and feet. In the water, she has to keep breathing and avoid being carried into rocks. You can follow those problems without knowing anything about climbing or kayaking. The effort of staying alive is more convincing than the conversations about her grief.
Director Baltasar Kormákur gives the steep drops and fast water enough space on screen for us to see what Sasha is facing. The climbing is tense because a small movement takes work, and there is so little beneath her. You do not need a new attack from Ben every few seconds to worry about her falling.
Ben is scarier before he starts explaining himself
Ben first approaches Sasha as someone who can help. He knows the area, offers directions and acts as though they are having a normal conversation. Egerton makes that false friendliness uncomfortable to watch. Sasha wants to continue her trip, while he keeps finding reasons to talk to her.
Once the hunt begins, Ben shouts, plays music and enjoys frightening her. Egerton is clearly having fun, and his excitement can be nasty in a way a quiet threat would not be. But the film keeps adding explanations about Ben's childhood and beliefs. Those speeches give him more to say without making his behavior much clearer. His knowledge of the woods is enough to make him dangerous; the extra explanations are less interesting than watching Sasha try to escape him.
The bigger problem is how often she almost gets away. Sasha finds an opportunity, Ben stops her, and she has to try again. After several failed escapes, it becomes harder to believe the next attempt will change anything. The film finds different places for these confrontations, but changing from woods to water does not entirely fix the repetition.
Pixel Twelve's verdict
Pixel Twelve score: 6/10. Theron's climbing, the river sequences and Egerton's early scenes make Apex worth considering if you want a short survival thriller. We give those scenes credit even though the story makes some frustrating choices. Sasha's loss deserves more attention than it gets, Ben's explanations slow things down, and the repeated captures make the middle less tense.
Watch it for the physical escapes, not for a detailed story about the two characters. If you need their decisions to make sense throughout, the impressive outdoor scenes probably will not be enough.
Apex is streaming on Netflix in the United States. See the Apex film page for the trailer, cast and photos, or read more Pixel Twelve reviews.
More images from Apex
2 screenshotsImages: Kane Skennar / Netflix.
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