Duuuuude, Death Valley is such a bro-friend flick it’s not even funny. Well, it’s a little funny, but it’s mostly a testosterone-y fest of young males being dudes — partying, hooking up, and in turn dissing then supporting each other.

The film is “based on actual events” and stars Josh (played by Eric Christian Olsen, The Loop, The Last Kiss, Tru Calling, Cellular, 24, The Hot Chick, Not Another Teen Movie, Smallville) and his three pals Daniel (Rider Strong, Boy Meets World, Pepper Dennis, Cabin Fever), Anthony (Bumper Robinson), and Brick (Wayne Young), all of whom head to the desert in search of fun and thrills.

They hit a rave and meet Amber (Genevieve Cortese, Wildfire). When the four guys all decide to take a hallucinogen, things begin to get weird. Once their respective trips have worn off, they find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one around to help them, save for some guys who may or may not be scary, but are most definitely not the brightest bulbs. Amber, Josh, Daniel, Anthony, and Brick end up battling the elements, as well as weird desert inhabitants, in order to stay alive.

While I can pretty much buy into the “bro” aspect of the film, it’s the introduction of The Scorpions, a local biker gang led by “sadistic, machete-wielding” Dom (played by Dash Mihok, I Am Legend, Felicity) that leaves me scratching my head.

The gang is more pathetic than scary, and the gang members seem more slow on the uptake than menacing or threatening. Also, although I loved Mihok in Felicity, I think he’s better served to play a young college jock than a “sadistic, machete-wielding” maniac.

Death Valley does entertain enough to address some moral questions in the what-would-you-do vein, and while it doesn’t preach right or wrong, it’s clear that there are good and bad choices to be made, with troubling consequences either way.

First time writer/director duo David Kebo and Rudi Liden bring Death Valley to life, and the film also stars Vince Vieluf (Friends) and Brendan Fletcher (RV, Supernatural, Tideland, The Final Cut, Freddy vs. Jason).

While I was hoping for a scary ride (along the lines of The Hills Have Eyes), in the end, Death Valley is more of an action adventure with a low body count and a lot of cute male actors being, well, dudes.