Killing Season, which stars Robert De Niro and John Travolta, was shot on several locations here in Georgia, including Sweetwater Creek State Park, Black Rock Mountain State Park, Tallulah Gorge State Park, and the Pine Mountain Gold Museum. I rented Killing Season earlier this afternoon from a Redbox dollar booth down the street because I expected to see several familiar landmarks, and I was not disappointed. A pivotal confrontation takes place inside the old mill ruins at Sweetwater Creek where friends and I go running at least once a month, an early moment features scenic shots of Tallulah Gorge where I have spent several weekends hiking and taking my own photographs, and various other sequences effectively mix footage from areas inside these parks. Since I will be out at Sweetwater Creek State Park this coming weekend for a trail race, I know that I will enjoy running by the same terrain where De Niro and Travolta stalked and brutally attacked each other time and time again.
Unfortunately, Killing Season is really not a good movie.
De Niro and Travolta are both phoning in their performances with bad dialogue from a vapid script. John Travolta has an unintentionally comical look with the worst facial hair imaginable, and his Serbian accent does no favors to the character portrayal. Robert De Niro sleepwalks through the story with no real emotion whatsoever, and he even seems bored when pulling an arrow out of his calf. I will not go so far as to say that Killing Season is unwatchable, but there is a good reason why this 2013 film went straight to video, and it makes me think of the lower-tier action movies that used to air during off hours on Cinemax or Showtime.
The above-mentioned Georgia State Parks have some visually spectacular settings, but there are better ways to see them.