Director: Jenn Wexler
Year: 2018
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Hanging out with her punk friends, a troubled teen and her friends go on the run to a remote cabin in the woods following an accident, and while they begin trashing the area a psychotic forest ranger aware of their situation begins stalking them through the woods forcing them to get away.
Review:
For the most part, this one was quite a decent and enjoyable effort. Part of that fun is the fact that this one really goes out to making the central group a product of their environment. The opening scenes of them in their underground clubs, doing drugs and basically living by their own rules sets them up as for what kind of group we're going to follow which might not be the warmest and most endearing but strikes this as appropriate for the type of feature told here. Given the intrusion of the punk-rock aesthetic not only with the clothing and physical characteristics of the group but also the high-energy soundtrack and visual sense combines into being quite the fine choice into setting this one up.
That in turn brings the film's fine slasher set-pieces to make more of an impact. The initial sequence of the group partying and then witnessing the one getting shot which sends the whole group into panic and scattered throughout the woods hoping to get help starts this on a fine note, the trap with the one victim getting caught in the woods with the animals as well as the fine ambush in the convenience store which is a solid stalking scene overall. This nicely sets the stage for the solid finale where the chase becomes quite enjoyable as the drugged victim turns the tables on the killer and begins a somewhat enjoyable chase through the compound leading into the brutal confrontation that offers up a solid finale overall. Combined with the practical effects work for the kills, these here hold this up over it's few minor flaws.
Among the few flaws to be had here is the rather troublesome antics of the group which makes it somewhat hard to side with them in their plight. Despite the fine work it does in setting up their plight and living conditions, that it paints them as self-centered, belligerent and basically living by their own rules as rude as possible. The disrespect for authority or other people's property thinking that they own everything around without any kind of consequences just makes it nearly impossible to side with them as they start to get attacked as despite her best efforts to bring a sense of grounded reality to everything.
As well, the other big flaw to be had is the low number of kills here since the central group is so small it doesn't really offer much in that regard. This one keeps the body count to a minimum here so it's really hard to get all that excited at it that you would be for some other similar slashers, as this one is relegated to just the main group that's a small gathering that could've had a few more bodies added to the mix. Even by offering up a few extra members of the cast, there's also the problematic reasoning for the rampage here as the back-and-forth nature of the finale keeps changing what's going on so it can get a bit confusing in what's going on. In the end, although it has fun with the setup involved, there's still some issues with it.
Overview: *** 1/2/5
While it has some solid and somewhat detrimental issues at play here, the fact that it's still enjoyable enough at what it does makes this a solid piece overall here. Give this a chance if you're into these kinds of indie slashers, while those who don't appreciate that kind of film should heed caution here.
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