Director: William Stead
Year: 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Heading out into the woods, a group of counselors looking to reopen an old, disused summer camp so they can spend the weekend partying, find the area home to a maniacal, deranged killer using his tragic background to kill anyone he comes across, and must get away alive.
Review:
This was a fairly solid and better-than-expected feature. Among the better elements found here is the far more effective and likable storyline that gives this plenty of traditional elements in this kind of storyline. The main focus here is on the backstory of the killer, which manages to introduce a difference enough from the established lore of the character to be a worthwhile deviation to understand why he'd go on the rampage he does, since it not only explains his violent behavior but unnatural physical appearance. That provides a fun secondary storyline about the different figures running around the community trying to figure out how he’s gotten free and on the loose again, which brings them into the main storyline where the group is out at the cabins for their getaway, which has them in the middle of the killer’s hunting grounds. It’s not original in any way, but it serves this well enough to be a solid enough way to about this kind of story since it introduces the main group getting killed and the extraneous parts of their story.
That lets the other impressive part here come about rather nicely with the film’s strong and mostly effective stalking scenes. This one goes all out with the kind of brutal sequences here that showcase the killers’ strength and ferocity rather well, from the opening scene taking out the paranormal investigators in the caves around the campground to the other rampage on the family that comes around to check on the house before getting to the series of ambushes around the camp. Taking the group out in hot tubs, out in the woods, or just in various locations around the facility that mainly focus on the anchor weapon he has, while also utilizing other objects at his disposal, are generally likable and effective, with some great gore and practical effects to give this some other enjoyable factors.
There are some issues to be had here that bring this one down. The main issue with this one is the seemingly inane and just plain confusing finale that tries to incorporate several storylines together into a setup that doesn’t make any sense or make this one interesting. With a fun first hour involving the killer coming after those around the camp and getting these brief interspersals on the outside, where we get the backstory coming together with this main feature, it then throws them together in one of the most confusing ways possible, and keeps everything from making sense. That also highlights the other issue here, where it features some rather unlikable and barely worthwhile group of friends wandering around the camp who are there to screw everything that moves, or so preoccupied with mundane matters, it’s really hard to care what happens to them, which all come together to be what holds this back.
Overview: ***.5/5
A fun and far more enjoyable outing than expected, there’s quite a lot more to this one than expected, although there are a couple of big drawbacks that manage to hold it down. Those with an appreciation for this style or approach to the material will have quite a lot to like with this one, while most others out there should heed caution.
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