Dissecting this movie on a technical level is not entirely fair. The acting was on par for a 'B' movie, which is to say that it was not memorable and adequately served its purpose. There are no stars and the script was quite similar to a short story that I wrote at the age of seven. However...

I saw it a few times as a young lad. I highly recommend it for any young man. It sparks the imagination and piques the curiosity for any young kid wondering what it might be like to be alone in a threatening world with self-reliance an only option for survival. Having said that, the movie is nothing to write home about, but I'm better for having seen it in my youth.

(show this to kids who might be contemplating running away from home)

Kid Coulter in my opinion was a good romp, serious enough to be a good adventure, funny enough to lighten the mood. The kid was a nerd uncomfortable in the outdoors, more into computers and chess. When confronted with a chance to try something new, a physical challenge, he backs down, having no confidence in himself.

He had to get comfortable pretty quickly, and learn to be self sufficient. the viewer is treated to a light hearted survival story, with elements of danger and fun. Not for the seriously literal minded viewer. Viewers willing to suspend disbelief and let the film be what it is will enjoy it. It is a family film after all, meant to appeal mainly to the younger audience or at least the young at heart.

This film starts out with a somewhat spoiled Boston city boy flying out to Oregon, none-too-enthusiastically, to spend a few weeks with his divorced father in his new house. Here Dad has set himself up to enjoy all the beauty of the wilderness outside and all the cozy comforts of civilization inside. For at least half an hour we see a routine but heartwarming renewal of a father-son relationship. There is no premonition of what is to follow.

Then, suddenly, on his way back to Boston, the boy becomes the unwitting possessor of an undeveloped roll of pictures so valuable to the spies who took them that they will coldly kill not only to get them back but to cover up all trace of the confusion. They kidnap him and deposit him with a pair of heartless roughnecks living up in the mountains, whom they pay to dispose of him. The plot and mood take a very dark turn-- as abrupt, unpredictable, and merciless as real life.

While perhaps not a masterstroke, I can buy this particular twist. Why dramas so seldom allow events to unfold in front of the viewer without foreshadowings every few minutes escapes me.

The trouble is that, having taken this turn, these movie makers can't decide whether they are producing a thriller or a comedy. The left-over hippies are clowns, but they are so nasty that laughter were tasteless. The 12-year-old hops into the driver's seat of their rickety pickup truck and peels out for a brief, and incredibly poorly edited, dirt-road spin. His captors chase him uphill and down, and everyone gets lost-- including all sense of direction in the film.

It is not difficult to understand why few have seen it and fewer still have bothered to vote.

I saw this movie when I was around the same age as the title character. Actually I was a bit younger. I have to say that for a 10 year old kid watching this movie I was amazed! I love this movie, well, maybe i loved this movie, I haven't seen it in over 13 years. I'd love to see it again, but the chances that it's on Video or DVD are pretty nonexistent. I remember it was on Cinemax in the eighties, because I taped it on VHS back then.

I cannot stand people that excuse truly awful movies by saying it is a "kid's movie." Uhh, it is a movie for dumb kids maybe, but intelligent kids could pretty easily see how bad this film was. The acting was awful! The script was horrific. The directing, terrible. Nowhere in this film will you find talent on display. OK, pretty scenery, big deal, this is not a Nature documentary. I love the one scene where the mother is calling the father, and they refer to each other by their full names, as if they are not sure who they are talking to. Tepid! This movie will insult any viewer with a 70 or higher IQ. Seriously, if you come in with a lower IQ, you might enjoy it, heck, you might have wrote it.

This movie is awesome! the acting is terrible but the movie never seems to get boring! great movie quotes and the music is hilarious! if u want a movie just for laughs or fun get this the scenery is also beautiful! i think its filmed in oregon, jim stafford appears in this movie and sings a retarted song! overall this movie is great and for you wilderness movie lovers this is one of them. if its my opinion or not this movie is at least a rent or borrow. when i first got this movie for 5 dollars i was like, this movie is going to stink. but as i said it turned out to be awesome! two thumbs up for plot and directing two thumbs down for acting. but hey you might like it!!

Every single time I want to watch a survival movie with a kid as the star I get disappointed. They are usually not even close to realistic. The film, at first is kind of corny, but it seemed like it was going to be better realistically. WRONG. There are so many things that are wrong with this movie that I can't list them. For Example: the kid falls for a long length of time (twice) that would turn a normal person into a puddle. Yet, he would stand up without a scratch. Someone please help me find a good, realistic survivalist movie.

Let me preface my statement, by saying, that the only reason I didn't give this film a 1 out of 10 was the cinematography was decent. Other than that, this film is despicable. The dialogue, acting, music and general feel of the movie angers me. It angers me that people with obviously no talent for expressing valid feelings and dialogue get to make movies. Who actually read this script and thought this sounded like a winner! This is the kind of movie that makes any person think they can be in movies. Absolutely terrible, I only watched because I was violently ill and couldn't get out of bed. Unless you feel like making your brain melt, for two hours, I would stay away from this garbage.

I haven't seen this movie in quite a long time.Its hard to find online.Our old recording from the 80's has lost its sound and picture quality.I remember it as a great adventure seeing a kid our own ages running from captures and outwitting hillbilly's.Pretty much surviving on his own wits.Worth seeing if you can find it.Pretty low budget but its the 80's norm.This is the kind of movie that reminds me of back in the day (I was born in '77)When we use to watch movies like Goonies,The adventurers,Bmx Bandits.All while waiting for Punky Brewster or Silver Spoons to come on.Now get on your G.T. Performer and ride down to the sunshine gas station for 25 cent fountain drinks and 5 cent popcorn.

I am writing this review from memory, as I have not seen it since the 80s. It really felt like someone took two random scripts and combined them, decided to playing "eenie meanie miny mo" on picking the cast, instead of auditioning. Then gave it to some high school kid to direct. Some of the nature photography was pleasant, but in the Northwest that is a pretty easy thing to do.

The editing was terrible, the cinematography was mediocre, and the film was absent of any sort of talent. Yet, there was a general curiosity of how it would conclude. In the end, I felt robbed of 3 hours only to discover that the movie was only an hour and forty-one minutes.

I give this movie 10 stars for being a wonderful romp through the Port Angeles area in Washington State!

While the movie isn't as tense/serious as 'Cloak & Dagger' or 'The Edge', or as high of quality in writing/acting, it is a unique mixture of childhood espionage and wilderness survival.

As a resident of the Port Angeles/Sequim (pronounced Skwim) region, I thought this movie was a hoot because my husband and I kept trying to figure out the roads and areas where the movie was filmed; for that reason I recommend it to anyone else who lives on the Olympic Peninsula.

Of course, there are many inconsistencies in the geography, as far as ferries and trains go, and rattle snakes are not inhabitants in this area of Washington State, but sometimes movies require suspending disbelief for the sake of enjoyment, and this is one of those movies.

Inconsistencies aside, I think it's a neat movie, definitely corny in areas -- but then what dads aren't corny?! -- and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys 1980s movies, wilderness movies, survival movies, childhood movies, and movies made in the great Pacific Northwest!

Thanks to HDNET movie channel for airing this movie that I had never heard of until I was over 40!

(PS - 0 stars to IMDb for declining the submission because "We did not capture a specific reason during processing.")

This movie was incredibly funny, rather it was intended to be or not is beside the point, there are some movies that just make you laugh because they are so dumb, this is one of those movies, of course I may just have a warped sense-of-humor. Who knows. At any rate I loved it, still do.