Director: Mary Beth McAndrews
Year: 2025
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Preparing for a special frat party, a group of women are raped, drugged, and forced to partake in a deadly game where a group of guys hunt them through the local woods, but when a couple interrupts their plans find their brand of justice and retaliation is more impactful.
Review:
Overall, this was a decent enough and likable genre effort. One of the main aspects within here is the immensely effective and generally enjoyable central setup that provides a great proving ground for what’s on store. The main idea of the film centering on the group of thugs kidnapping girls, taking them out to the woods, where they drug and rape them before proceeding to hunt them down in a cruel game in the woods, where their misogynistic side comes out in how they treat women as useless objects to be abused and discarded, offers quite a strong opening impression. Looking at the girls as hopeful, innocent women out for some fun but stumbling upon the wrong group of guys, when the whole experience turns into a typical frat-party where the guys abuse them for their own pleasure before turning the tables and then revealing the true purpose behind the trip, which is to set them loose in the woods to hunt and kill them. It’s a great twist and manages to provide this one with a solid storyline on its own.
When this gets the other couple involved and their true intentions are revealed, this one gets flipped into one of the more entertaining genre efforts in this style, with the way it provides a dynamic inversion of the hunters in the woods formula. With the couple finding them in the middle of their hunt and then bringing out their true serial killer selves as they take the survivor under their protection and set out to track down each of the gang one by one while dishing out their own brand of karmic justice by brutally torturing and killing them, this turns into a genuinely thrilling attempt at doling out retribution as the couple manages to bring a different kind of energy to this type of scenario. Rather than deal with the whole thing in a dark, disturbing manner where the girl isn’t safe with either side, this takes a comedic approach where the couple hunting down the frat group where they have a sarcastic, nonchalant bent to their interactions protecting her while going for the brutality against them in an everyday activity kind of mundane experience that leaves this immensely thrilling and quite hilarious.
The final half, where their retribution and revenge come full circle, is where this one becomes far more brutal and graphic than expected, as the helpless group of racist college students is caught up in their series of attacks. The encounters in the woods are quite fun, taking such a casual approach to what’s going on makes for a wholly enjoyable experience as they get what’s coming to them on top of the rather fun series of tortures the duo devise for them, all the while taking the survivor under their wing and protecting her while giving advice on how to kill or their life story of how they met and came together. It’s a solid enough take that there’s some genuine intrigue over whether or not she’ll join in on them when it comes down to the final members of the gang getting revenge, but there’s plenty of fun to be had here overall. The main thing that feels off is the inclusion of the parents at the end, who add nothing more than an explanation for their behavior and extra bodies to kill at a point where it’s not needed, so the entire experience is a bit pointless. Otherwise, there’s not a whole lot to dislike here.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely likable and effective genre comedy, there’s a lot to like with this one that manages to hold it up incredibly well over some minor issues that aren’t that impactful those with an appreciation for this style of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who don’t mind the drawbacks on display will have a lot to like here while most others out there should heed caution.
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