The Mooring – Too Many Teenage Girls!

Runtime: 90 minutes
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Rating: R
Director: Glenn Withrow


The Mooring opens on a family camping in the woods. A man suddenly emerges from the forest, grabs the teenage daughter of the family, and drags her away without anyone noticing. He then tosses her in a cabinet on his boat and seemingly takes off.


Ten years later, a woman named Nancy leads a retreat for teenage girls addicted to technology. One of the girls ran up a $2,000+ cell phone bill because of her texting, while another girl caused a six car accident because she was talking on her phone. Nancy wants them to learn that they can lead healthy lives without involving technology. After the girls sneak into her office and use the computer, she decides to take them on a retreat into the woods.


While giving them activities to do on the boat, she notices that there's something wrong with the engine but she keeps it a secret from the girls. Once they arrive on a secluded island, they spend some more time talking and having fun together before another boat arrives. They hear a couple talking, and when one of the girls yells at him, he calls her a bitch and flashes his spotlight at them. Nancy diffuses the situation and puts the girls to bed.


The next day, she decides to take the boat back herself for repairs and come back for them later. Smart, right? Before she can do anything, Mickey, the female half of the couple comes over for a talk. She apologizes for the night before, asks if they have coffee, and then abruptly leaves when her boyfriend calls for her.


Nancy finally sets off in the boat, but only after she makes sure that Mickey and the other boat left. She doesn't get very far before the engine dies, but Mickey and her boyfriend Richard are right behind her. Mickey offers to tow the boat to shore, and Nancy reluctantly agrees. As the girls attempt to have fun without her, the other boat shows up. Richard shows them that he has Nancy and that he tied an anchor to her feet and duct taped her hands and mouth. He then tosses her in the water before letting them know that he's coming after them next.


The Mooring is the film that made my roommate and I agree that if we are ever in a life or death situation, it's perfectly okay to leave the other one behind. Seriously, half the incidents in the movie could have been avoided had the girls focused on saving their own skins. Oh, you finally made it to the boat and can sail away to safety but your one friend who hid in the woods and wouldn't come out when you called her name suddenly needs help? Yeah, leave her ass behind. Oh, one of your friends is unconscious and in a good hiding spot in the woods? Yeah, you better waste time picking her up and dragging her through the woods with a killer stalking you.


The one smart thing the film did is explain who no one has cell phones. I'd guess that in a desolate spot like an island in the middle of a lake wouldn't have cell phone reception anyway, but it does explain that Nancy takes their phones before the trip. They don't explain why Nancy, who is supposedly so responsible, would leave the girls behind though. If I found out that the person I paid a large amount of money too left my daughter on a desolate island after knowing some weird dude was out there, I wouldn't be too happy.


The Mooring perfectly pegs the mind of a teenage girl, which is probably because a teenage girl helped write the screenplay. The problem is that the only people who probably care about the mind of a teenage girl is another teenage girl or possibly a teenage boy. I can see why teens might like the film, but as an adult, it just made me annoyed at how teens act.