A Perfect Getaway

David Twohy found the story hiking the Kalalau Trail on Kauai: inventing backstories for passing trekkers, he decided some were serial killers, and started writing as soon as he got back to the Princeville Hotel. It is set in Hawaii but was largely shot in Puerto Rico; Kauai supplied scenery shot from a helicopter. The island visitors bureau refused the production promotional material once it learned the shoot was going elsewhere. The script explains its own trick aloud. Cliff is a writer who has just made his first studio sale, Nick a movie mad Iraq veteran; Nick insists the term for a false lead is not red herring but red snapper, and tells Cliff he has a good second act twist. The BBFC gave it a 15 and spelled out why: bloody shootings and stabbings, a woman stamped on the groin as she lies on the ground, crack and marijuana use. The unrated cut was classified separately and runs longer. Timothy Olyphant was first runner up for the Toronto Film Critics Association supporting actor prize. A good fit if you treat the rules of the game spoken aloud on screen as part of the game rather than a leak. Not for anyone coming to see Hawaii itself; most of what is on screen is Puerto Rico.