Director: Danishka Esterhazy
Year: 2021
Country: South Africa
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Taking a trip with her friends, a teen joins the group on a camping trip into the woods to the same spot where her mother encountered a serial killer years earlier in an attempt to finish him off and help her move on, but when they discover a frat party next door tries to save them from the still-alive killer.
Review:
This was a highly enjoyable and better-than-expected remake. One of the strongest features here is the films’ simplistic setup and approach, borrowing many of the elements that are from the original into a rather fun time. Basically employing the same notion of the original with the group coming together for a weekend trip, finding a younger sister has stowed away without their knowledge and are soon faced with a power-drill-wielding psychopath killing them when they manage to split up and must try to stay alive. It’s a routine and workable formula that adds plenty of chances for this one to turn the tables on most slasher films with the kids turning the tables on the killer with their plan to stop him once and for all. Done with the best of intentions, the family legacy involved here takes on a rather fun role here with the connection between the girls and the killer which is quite intriguing overall.
There’s also a lot to like with this one managing to offer up a highly enjoyable series of slashing scenes throughout here. The opening attack on the mother’s friends during their party is a great mini-ambush with the peeping tom getting dispatched and then seeing the dead bodies appear around the party before the brief ambush and chase down to the dock gives this a rather solid opening while the majority of the attacks at the cabin are highly enjoyable. Upon crashing the boys’ party, this one turns into a highly enjoyable and engaging series of chases and confrontations where the clueless guys charge into the situation completely unprepared for the situation as the girls put their plan in motion that comes off quite nicely, this sets the stage for the finale where the second rampage occurs that provides some more solid deaths and kills here before a surprising revelation that takes place which ends this all on a rather nice note.
There are some issues with this one. The main issue featured here is the highly unlikely behavior on display that causes everything to appear as some kind of political-correctness statement for no reason. The fact that so much of this gender-swaps who’s being sexually exploited with the male group shown to be ineffectual in fighting off the killer, running around in skimpy underwear, or even being the subject of a leering, sexualized body-panning shower scene is all perfectly fine yet the inclusion of politically-correct lines pointing out their stupidity are awkward and cringe-inducing that are so far removed from reality it borders on camp for no reason. As well, the final half-hour to this is highly illogical and awkward which features an ill-thought-out and unlikely twist that’s not going to surprise most out there and prolongs the film unnecessarily which is quite troubling despite the decent stalking present. These factors bring the film down somewhat.
Overview: ***.5/5
A rather enjoyable update to the original series which has a lot to like in spite of several minor flaws, this is a fun and likable update to the original while mostly succeeding in adapting to the modern setup. Slasher fans or those curious about the update due to its update status will have a lot to like here while only those who are ardently opposed to the negatives will have much of a problem with this one.
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