Back of Box:
Five college friends find the perfect place to camp out, but end up crossing paths with psychotic twin brothers Simon and
Stanley, who knock off the campers in some extremely creative (and extremely gruesome) ways.
Plot: A set of "twins"
terrorize a group of college students on a gold digging, camping trip. Nothing new really, just a combination of
things. Hell, a set up is a set up now-a-days. Crazy killer, stereotypical characters, a ridiculous story with
over the top antics and gore...yeah, this one has pretty much everything anyone would look for in a modern slasher.
It's made marginally more interesting because of the fact that the stereotypes are played with very nicely (The
final girl drinks, the stoner is the heroic one, and the virgin gets picked off early).
Acting: Crispin Glover was
just awkward enough to make me uncomfortable any time he was on screen. Margo Harshman was very likeable as the
final girl and Greg Cipes might be my favorite slasher stoner ever (Well, he gives Jason Mewes a run for his money, for
sure)! Everyone else was pretty much just a body count booster.
Gore: Body Count (14
and a dog) A very respectable fourteen. I must say I was quite satisfied. The beginning of the
film gives us some very well done stabbings, but later in the film it's revealed that our killer's weapon of choice happens to
be the pick ax. On top of that, the killer has an affinity for booby traps. Yes, this one definitely delivers.
This section gets extra credit too. Not only does one character get offed with a Cheech & Chong sized
joint, but it also has a little Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives nod (I will be the first to tell you that
I enjoy Jason's Mother over Jason, but even I can admit that the Part VI paintballer scene is pretty badass).
Suspense: A lot of the
suspense in this film is gained through the relationship between the killer and the final girl. Some of their exchanges
are just flat out creepy. When the action hits things do step up quite a bit. Again, things get over the
top, but many of the scenes do succeed.
Directing: Given the
ridiculous nature of this film, it's nice to see that Director Bill Dear kept things simple. He made it a very smooth
ride into madness. Now, that's not to say he didn't try anything different, to the contrary most of his experimental
shots really did work. I especially enjoyed his use of slo-mo.
Tech: The lighting
worked extremely well, day and night. I can't complain about the instrumental soundtrack because most of it didn't even
register (The movie itself keeps you pretty occupied), but I did enjoy the actual songs that were used in the film.
The one the stoner was playing on his acoustic was sweet. The sound was the only thing that let me down. Some
of the dialog was intangible and the majority of the sound effects and deaths were too loud.
Other: The big one
here is Blake Lively. Why does that bitch get top billing? She's in the last five minutes and she gets her
name next to Crispin's because she made some shitty movies about a pair of pants (Boo, that's like Bruce Campbell getting
top billing in Intruder...totally unnecessary). Now, while the entire main cast isn't that memorable,
their survival tactics are (At least they were really trying to survive...for the most part). I wanted this
film to end like a '90s style slasher, but I can respect the final girl, sole survivor scenario. The only other
thing it could've used is one more tit shot.
Final Word: My "final word" is, yes. You
should definitely give it a try. Don't expect anything ground breaking, just enjoy it. It's meant to be fun,
so don't take it too seriously and I know you'll love it.
