Director: Jeremy Sumrall
Year: 2019
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: The Pick-Axe Murders III: The Final Chapter
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Heading out for a concert together, a group of friends picks up a group of hitchhikers also looking to attend the same concert and head out to a local cabin in the woods to party in preparation for it, but when they realize that a local legend involving a deranged indestructible serial killer is true they try to get away from the madman.
Review:
This was quite an enjoyable slasher throwback effort. The big thing about this one that works is the wholly enjoyable backstory setup which gives this a strong entry-point. The opening monologue about the history of the killer affecting the town and his rampages in the past gives the film an impressive enough backstory about the killer stalking the residents, while the first sequence about the couple resurrecting the killer out in the woods is a spectacular surprise with a shocking reveal and tons of fun occult rituals to get everything in motion. Given that everything is shown to have affected everyone in the town and explains their behavior manages to come across quite nicely, this has a solid starting point to get into.
The other big plus to be had here is the enjoyably cheesy style of slashing scenes throughout here. The idea of the film eschewing the traditional stalking in favor of quick ambushes out of nowhere to deliver brutal and rapid-fire attacks which offer up plenty of brutal, gory kills is a fun factor running through here. The series of attacks are enhanced at the end where it focuses on the stellar rampage at the concert and the subsequent attack at the house where he takes out the cast in fun fashion, mixing those quick ambushes and some much bigger stalking that takes place in the woods, providing a lot of fun. Touched off with scores of sleaze and nudity from those well qualified to deliver it, these elements are what hold the film up over it's few drawbacks that show up.
There are a few minor flaws to be had here. One of its biggest issues is the disproportionate pacing that still keeps this one going nicely enough yet does have quite a lot of down-time in between the kill scenes. It comes off way too late in the film for them to understand the killer’s loose as the film does run through a few extraneous subplots and sidestories that really stand-out as padding. From the unrealistic and grating scenes about the various couples cheating on each other or the arrival at the cabin playing games with each other that just goes too long, these end up keeping the killer’s antics until quite late in the film which is short enough as it is that holding off for that long isn’t all that worthwhile. With the obvious low-budget feel that comes up prominently in here, these are what hold the film overall.
Overview: ***/5
A wholly enjoyable sleazy slasher throwback that packs on the fun kills, over-the-top cheese and enough sleaze to get plenty to like, this is far more watchable and entertaining than expected for those that enjoy such films. Fans who appreciate cheesy slasher throwbacks or the sleazier end of the genre as a whole will be well entertained here, while those that are more demanding or turned off by the flaws should heed caution.
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