Two weeks before cameras were to roll, the service revoked all their permits. Harrah and crew scrambled for a Plan B, eventually settling on shooting mostly in Moab, Utah to capture the film’s naturalistic setting.

“It was so much better, with a better infrastructure [for filmmakers],” says Harrah, a native of Sun Valley, Idaho.

Harrah ended up shooting a few scenes, guerilla style, in the Grand Canyon.

“We opened the van door, jumped out with a giant camera … and started filming,” he says.

The film’s heroes prove just as resourceful, battling against rattlesnakes, wolves and the elements after their honeymoon plans go awry.

“It’s two young people starting their life off and making a stupid mistake,” he says.

The film shoot hit other complications, one which could have proven deadly. Strahovski nearly got blown off a ledge one day, only to be saved by two burly co-workers on the set. And a romantic scene featuring an Ella Fitzgerald song got dumped when the filmmakers couldn’t afford to pay for the rights to use the number.

Harrah shot “The Canyon” on a tight budget, and the film is enjoying a brief theatrical run in select cities before hitting DVD stores on Nov. 17.

The first-time director didn’t let money get in the way of some critical shots which illustrate the beauty and grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Many were taken by a camera operator lifted far above the movie set courtesy of a crane, and Harrah says he had to fight for each of those moments.

Harrah also didn’t skimp on the gore for one nasty sequence involving an impromptu surgery.

“This isn’t a gratuitous slasher film,” he says, adding the audience needs to see exactly what the characters are up against for it to have the proper impact.

The film’s brief theatrical release allowed the film to generate some critical reviews, which Harrah says will hopefully help the eventual DVD sales.

He understands it’s a problem many independent filmmakers face today. It’s rare for their films to be shown in darkened theaters.

“The new paradigm hasn’t formed yet,” he says, alluding to the closing of several independent studios in recent years. “People are trying to find out what the new model is. I’m so lucky we got our foot in the door as it was shutting.”

[ed. note: Christian Toto's review of "The Canyon" can be read here.]

The new film, enjoying a brief theatrical release before jumping to DVD Nov. 17, doesn’t reinvent the wheel so much as spin said wheel as smoothly as possible for nearly two tense hours. Yuppie newlyweds Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) and Nick (Eion Bailey) want to see the Grand Canyon via mule, but they don’t have the permits necessary to make the trek.

Enter Henry (Will Patton), a grizzled local who promises he can secure two permits and guide them to some of the canyon’s lesser known sites. Nick can’t wait. He’s a city slicker at heart, and a rough and tumble trip through a tourist trap’s hidden side is an intoxicating challenge.

Henry knows the terrain, and has the scars to prove it, but even a savvy outdoors type can’t prepare for everything the canyon has to offer. Disaster soon strikes, leaving the newlyweds at the mercy of their surroundings.

“The Canyon” doesn’t stray far from the “innocents vs. the wild” narrative, but director Richard Harrah maneuvers through familiar terrain with impressive skill. Harrah can’t massage some of the dialogue between the love birds, which ranges from touching to tortured.

Screenwriter Steve Allrich provides some gripping confrontations, and never do the main players take a “Rambo” turn for the ridiculous. But Allrich doesn’t provide a compelling backstory for the couple, even if he hints at a few tasty subplots that never fully develop.

The aerial camera work keeps reminding us the odds stacked against our heroes, but this plucky duo won’t go down without a fight.

Consider “The Canyon” another small budget, small expectations thriller that manages to outperform a good chunk of its bigger pocketed peers.