Director: Anubys Lopez
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Cult
Plot:
Arriving in a small Texas town, a woman and her sister traveling together rekindling after being apart find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere with no escape despite a series of attempts, and when the real inspiration of their trip is apparent try to get away alive.
Review:
This was a rather decent if unspectacular genre effort. One of the best elements of this one is the general atmosphere of the town which generates a highly unnerving setup throughout here. The first half, featuring the girls driving through the deserted backwoods community and encountering the locals with their cryptic behavior warning them away which leads to them being lost in the woods, the overall atmosphere of this section is quite fun with the slow build-up to the two getting lost and stranded in the wilderness. With the exploits here gradually becoming creepier the longer they’re out in the woods due to the sheer panic of the situation and the bewilderment of their predicament, it sets this one up nicely to start.
The other factor that works nicely here is the final half where everything comes together and the exploits of the situation can finally be unveiled. Following the solid series of chases and revelations made during their chases through the woods, the capture and placement through the rigors of the ceremony are quite fun overall. With the twist reveal of the leader and their plan which helps to explain some of the actions previously, this setup provides a grim and quite gruesome final half that goes through a rather enjoyable part which is a fine way to end this one playing into the setup from before quite nicely. These features are enough to make this one enjoyable enough to be watchable.
There are some big problems here that hold this one down. The main issue with this one is the utterly moronic decision-making that goes on with the girls who are just about unbearable in their presence here. Spending the entire time engaging in one contrarian argument after another trying hopelessly to fuel the tension between them that exists due to a series of family traumas endured over time, this wouldn’t be bad if any of the arguments had a sense of validity behind them. Instead, they’re exactly contrarian for the sake of romantic tension rendering them irritating beyond belief and losing so much of our sympathy for them which gets worse the more they yell at each other.
That becomes almost as damaging as the secondary drawback this causes in the sluggish and dragged-out pacing. It takes over an hour before anything really starts happening in earnest to them as the majority of the film is spent trying to get a handle on the two of them without much else going on leading to a somewhat dull experience here. Rather than get any kind of direct interaction with the cult or whoever is behind the incident, this one tends to have them run through the woods arguing with each other, and causes a highly distracting experience. The other factor here is the film’s low-budget limitations during the night sequences which are so dark that it’s nearly impossible to tell what’s going on which makes these a pain to get through and ends up holding this back overall.
Overview: **.5/5
A watchable if somewhat problematic genre effort, this one manages to remain quite likable until its flaws start to become somewhat overwhelming which is what keeps this from being better than it should be. If you’re a fan of this type of genre effort or curious about it it’s still worthwhile but most others that don’t appreciate that style should heed caution with it.
Comments
Post a Comment