Director: Thomas Smith
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Taken out to the middle of the woods, a woman who was drugged and left out there encounters the truth about the local legend involving a deformed serial killer living in the area, and when a supposed rescuer also falls into his trap must try to get free of the situation before others fall victim.
Review:
There was a lot to like with this one. Among its brightest aspects is the solid setup work featured here where the method of getting there is quite enjoyable. The scenes at the school with the awkward flirting and invitations are all fine at filling in what happened, much like the intermittent flashbacks of the fateful events at the party where she gets drugged causes a great overall setup. This is especially true with how it's handled, rather than wasting time dumping it via those flashbacks while escaping the situation.
The real fun, though, is that getting away from the abuser only throws them into the path of the fabled killer. As she attempts to get her bearings in the middle of the woods generates some creepiness due to the general area and the few bits known about the backstory of the killer filling in some of the gaps. The interplay at the cabin where he holds them hostage and tries to get them there while he attempts to undergo his religious practices and seduction attempts provide some uneasy aspects throughout here.
That also leads nicely into the wholesale enjoyable series of cat-and-mouse chases and encounters throughout the woods that emerge throughout the final half. The arrival of the other player to provide a body-count offers some enjoyable stalking, especially where they interrupt the killer and get chased around the woods. The chases at the end are just as enjoyable, offering the kind of empowering sequences showing the kind of resilience and tenacity required of the genre. Combined with some decent effects-work on the killer and the gore, this one has some likable aspects.
This one does have some flaws involved. The main issue here is the wholly egregious and unnecessary political correctness infused into the story where it twists everything around about various characters merely to tell a different story than what had been going on. These transitions are unbelievable, unrealistic, wipe away everything we’ve learned for nothing more than sanitized female empowerment over men and serves no purpose here. As well, the brief running time makes it feel like it's more on the killer who’s barely mentioned or known here, making this one feel somewhat underwhelming.
Overview: ***/5
Despite missing out on some key story details and offering a wholly unnecessary political message that doesn’t need to be there, this one still has enough to like that it’s a watchable enough slasher. Give it a look if that is an appealing process or intrigued about the style being incorporated into the slasher formula, while those turned off by the flaws on display should heed caution with this one.
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