Director: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes
Year: 2022
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After running into an old friend, a woman manages to reconnect their friendship to the point of getting to go on a trip to a bachelorette party in the woods, but when a series of truths are revealed about their past leads to a revelation that turns their care-free trip into a bloodsoaked nightmare.
Review:
Overall, there's quite a lot to like with this one. Among the more impressive features here is the incredibly savvy setup that ties together a biting social commentary on modern influencer culture as a means of introducing the slashing features. The early sequences showing the life she leads with trying to maintain her grip on the modern influencer life by looking at the recording equipment she uses, the constant checking for notifications, and requests for acceptance make for a fantastic insight into her mindset from the very beginning. Even interactions with her friend make it seem that her connection and obsession with social media is a massive part of her character that becomes an important part of the later half when we understand why that's her personality based on the backstory with the bully that grows in statue over the course of the film.
When it changes course and becomes a fully-fledged slasher film in the finale, it's done more as a means of witnessing the motivation beforehand that lead her there. These scenes are generally familiar as she takes out the pent-up aggression and viciousness inside her out on the guests at the cabin during the retreat, yet that becomes secondary to the film's means of ensuring we get the motivation to lead her there. The fact that her reverting back to the childhood version of herself that was subjected to the exploits of the bullying and is now set on keeping things built around seeking revenge for what happened as a far more engaging sense of catharsis for the past. Doing that in the form of some stylish stalking scenes throughout the cabin and surrounding mountain areas comes off quite fun with a nice bit of gore to top it all off for a lot to like here.
However, there are some minor issues to be had with this one. The main drawback is that the films' so heavily reliant on appealing to modern influencer culture that it becomes a portrait of the times far too easily. Relentlessly adding in the type of jargon and term that are commonly associated with the scene, utilizing filters and screen-filters mimicking various app displays, and coming on so heavily with the lifestyle she has that it can become incredibly frustrating and off-putting for those not interested in the style. It can become quite maddening to get this kind of feature throughout this one and can be responsible for the film feeling overlong as a result with so much of the film built on exploiting this factor. While not overly detrimental, it does bring this one down slightly.
Overview: ****/5
A highly enjoyable topical genre effort with plenty to like about it, most of the flaws here don't really have much of an impact here leaving this a genuinely fun entry. Those who find themselves connecting to this modern society or intrigued about what's going on here will have the most to like here although those turned off by those factors might not be that entertained by the film.
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