Numb is a low budget Canadian thriller. It is a reworking of films such as A Simple Plan or The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Unfortunately Numb suffers from a poor script.

A married couple in financial straits are driving to Vancouver in the cold winter snow. The pick up two mysterious hitchhikers who are freezing on the roadside. They are a brother and sister with the brother claiming he has just been released from jail.

As they go further along they nearly collide with an old man who has the coordinates for some stolen gold. The four of them decide to search for the gold and trek in the wilderness in the freezing weather without any proper clothing or equipment. Pretty soon they meet a dubious character in a log cabin and everyone starts to mistrust each other as the harsh weather starts to get to them.

The film is well made but the characters lack depth, it is predictable without anyone being truly nasty. Just people maybe behaving suspicious which is natural as the two couple are strangers.

The script really does not go anywhere, a nasty character is introduced and is then killed off. Some action is tagged on to give the film some thrills and momentum and a bit of a twist ending which is now common with these type of low budget thrillers.

Will (Jamie Bamber) and Dawn (Stefanie von Pfetten) are returning to Vancouver in the icy cold of winter. They pick up a pair of hitchhikers (Marie Avgeropoulos and Aleks Paunovic) and then hit an old man walking on the highway. Circumstances lead them to believe he has the co-ordinates for $4 million dollars in gold.

The film turns into a fight of the elements (hence title) and questions what we would sacrifice for a chest of gold. The frost bitten face make-up was more convincing then the plot. At some point in time, you might want to decide to come back with the equipment you need. Characters were okay.

Guide: No sex or nudity. I don't recall much in swearing.

A married couple with financial problems and a pair of hitchhikers eager to start a new life for themselves decide to join forces and trek out into the harsh Canadian wilderness in search of a fortune in gold. However, both greed and the extremely cold weather get the best of them.

Director Jason R. Goode, working from a tight script by Andre Harden, relates the compelling story at a constant pace, builds a good deal of tension, makes strong and evocative use of the bleak wintry landscape, and vividly captures the merciless severity of the unsparing cold so well that you can almost feel it. Moreover, the tone becomes more dark and grim as the narrative unfolds, with a potent doozy of a downbeat conclusion. The sound acting by the capable cast rates as another substantial asset: Jamie Barber as the desperate Will, Stefanie von Pfetten as Will's loyal wife Dawn, Marie Avgeropoulos as brash and hot-tempered prostitute Cheryl, and Aleks Paunovic as laid-back philosophical ex-con Lee. Colin Cunningham has a cool supporting role as a crazy hermit. Both Jan Kiesser's sharp widescreen cinematography and Alain Mayrand's moody score are up to par. Well worth a watch.