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LethbridgeInsider.com
January 11, 2003

At the Movies: The Haven
by Bill Ponech

Since September 11th, there has been a fair bit in the media about the likelihood of terrorists using Canada as an entry point to the United States, and in fact, there have been a few arrests to support this theory. Deric Olsen’s, The Haven, makes use of this possibility to tell the story of a terrorist making his way through Southern Alberta, and eventually on to Seattle where chemical weaponry will be used to take out the Director of the FBI, as well as thousands of innocent people. That is, unless Special Agent Ali Silver of Canada’s CSIS can stop him.

The Haven is director Deric Olsen’s first attempt at making a movie, and I have to say, I was impressed. What struck me as the strength of the film was the story itself. An original concept, Olsen creates a spy-thriller where after all the intelligence, all the police forces in North America, a conflict comes down to one agent (played by Alison Murray) assigned to stop this terrorist plot, with the help of a single RCMP officer.

The film opens with the audience wondering what is going on. This plot style could be considered tedious if the director is unable to pull everything together, and Olsen does that well. The film opens with RCMP officer Cade Hardison (played by Mark Matsalla) pulling onto a deserted road in middle of the night and firing a shot. At this point, the audience does not know who he is, or what he is up to. Then flash to a mysterious figure dressed in a long trench coat, apparently stealing a case from a scientist (played by Neil James) and eventually putting a slug in his head. As it turns out, these are our two heroes of the story, but Olsen has you thinking otherwise.

The terrorist at the centre of this plot is a man named Valat. Valat is played by Kingsley Mann, and does a decent job of convincing us that he is a bad man. Known only by their similar tattoos, the terrorists have hired a rogue scientist, Phillips, to create an airborne chemical agent, ZT-47, designed to wipe out the FBI Director in Seattle, as he is giving a speech. Also looming is the crowd he wants to take out with him. Valat sees the Waterton-Glacier Peace Park as his ticket to easy access to the US, and that leaves Agent Silver and Officer Hardison scrambling to find the route he will use. Knowing his subject well, Olsen utilizes the fact that trails change in Waterton, and the evil Valat knows this too. The climax of the film has Agent Silver battling Valat on a scenic bank near Waterton, making use of the great natural sets.

For a first film, Olsen has done a great job. As I mentioned, the strength of the film is the original plot, but there are other things worth mentioning as well. The editing was above reproach all the way. Pieced together in a way that complimented his script, Olsen uses the editing process to tell his story. As well, there are some ambitious scene connectors such as fast-forward techniques that elevate this film above the average.

I also appreciated the special effects done by James Harrison. During the initial sequence when Agent Silver puts the rogue Phillips out of his misery, Harrison uses a “Matrix-style” effect, where the slug exits the gun in super-slo-mo, and we see the slug as Phillips would have seen in it in his final 0.002 seconds of life.

Hats-off to the actors in the film as well. Independent first-films usually mean no paychecks, and this group of actors seemed fully committed to their roles, and it showed on film. Playing parts that would be normally reserved for older actors, this group made me forget that fact as soon as the action started.

The Insider Recommends:
An ambitious first film from a promising young director, The Haven is worth checking out. Shown already at the Movie Mill, there is the possibility of it showing again. Watch for it. To buy a copy of the DVD, e-mail store@northboundstudios.com.

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