Director: Dan Allen
Year: 2025
Country: United Kingdom/USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Trying to keep her family together, a woman and her son, waiting for her husband to come home, are stalked and tormented by a strange animal, eventually revealed to be a ravenous deer looking for its kidnapped fawn taken by one of the family members, and they must try to get away alive.
Review:
For the most part, this was a fairly fun and likable genre effort. Among the more enjoyable elements of this one comes from the worthwhile storyline that manages to bring about enough tie-ins and callbacks to the original fable while still working as a solid standalone feature. The recap of the specific story at the beginning serves to keep the fairytale in mind well enough so that the backstory of the deer becomes an integral part of the motivation for it going forward, as the series of traumatic incidents that occur around it set the stage for the ensuing rampage to come. This gets mixed nicely enough with the central family drama that takes place involving the strained family dynamics between the mother and father, which complicates the need for survival with their constant bickering and squabbling comes as the team of survivors comes together to get a solid overall setup.
The series of creature attacks here is also a lot of fun and gives this some more likable factors. The initial rampage through the woods encounters a series of random hunters before it comes into contact with the main family, which becomes the main stalking part of the storyline. This takes place in the woods and surrounding parts of the area as a series of attacks take place in the cabins where the cheesy, ambush-like nature of the deer comes off well enough as the ravenous deer charges through the underbrush after stragglers or encounters others around the cabin which makes everything feel all the more interesting due to the presence of a rampaging beast in the situation. With the final confrontation in the woods, not only getting some wild setups involving the wild deer running wild in the woods attacking the family and the reveal of what’s going on as well as a solid resolution into the main fable being adapted, but there’s also a lot to like here.
There are a few minor drawbacks on display with this one. The main detriment against this one is the series of inane family drama at the center of the film, that there’s a bit of a slog to get started. With the main gist of the first half presenting itself as a series of interactions with the family trying to put on a brave face for their son and make their marriage work, instead, all it does is manage to present the family as a thoroughly unlikable lot who are constantly fighting and arguing with each other in quite harsh terms. Very little of this is interesting or worthwhile to watch, and it also causes this one to hold up the animal attacks in this section since it’s focusing on this group that’s hard to follow. Moreover, the idea of this one hewing so close to such famous source material means the finale is seen coming from a mile away and doesn’t have much of an impact, as it has to get to that part of the story through quite improbable means, leaving this with its biggest issues.
Overview: ***.5/5
A generally likable if slightly flawed adaptation, there’s enough to like here that it manages to be quite enjoyable for what it is, even though there are some drawbacks to be had here. Those with an appreciation for this style of genre fare, who enjoyed the other films in this format, or who are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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