The Grey is probably one of the most difficult movies I’ve ever had to watch.

I say “difficult” because director Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces & Narc) does what no other director has been able to do in a long time...make me uncomfortable.

I fancy myself quite a hardened oke. I don’t cry in sad or romantic movies, I don’t mind horror and violence and I’m not precious about gratuitous bad language. But from the beginning of The Grey, I felt genuinely claustrophobic.

I’d love to see the making of this movie because it seems, to me anyway, that they filmed it in a perpetual blizzard.

Carnahan’s clever use of sound, dim lighting and camera close-ups gives a genuine sense of “this is a very uncomfortable place to be”. And this is even before the story moves out of the relative safety of the semi-populated Alaskan oil fields.

The Grey is available to rent on BoxOffice right now. But here’s a quick low-down of the vital statistics:

The Grey is set in Alaska and tells the story of a group of oil workers as they travel back home from the frigid wastelands of North America to meet their families for some much-needed R&R. But their plane crashes in the middle of frozen nowhere, which turns out to be the least of their problems.

Meet Ottway (played by Liam Neeson), an Irish-American Bear Grylls of sorts, hired by the oil company to protect its field workers from the local wildlife, most notably, wolves. He’s a loner, with little to be proud of, but he unwittingly becomes the “leader” of the pack of crash survivors as they try and find civilisation while avoiding the elements and an army of ravenous wolves.

From the moment they crash in the icy wilderness, The Grey is a heart-pounding thriller as the group of survivors fends off attacks from unbelievably big and completely ruthless wolves, injuries, and the Alaskan cold. There is, quite literally, nothing that Mother Nature doesn’t throw at these guys.

You could potentially argue that this movie is a bit formulaic and predictable. I personally didn’t mind it, given the fact that I was completely immersed in the whole look and feel of the movie. It’s well made, the performances are outstanding and you genuinely feel scared for these guys at times.

The Grey is a really good movie and I’d highly recommend it – particularly if you enjoyed the likes of The Way Back, The Edge, and, I’d argue, even Pitch Black. It’s gritty and merciless and will keep you at the edge of your seat.