Director: Scott Jeffrey, Becca Hirani (as Rebecca Matthews)
Year: 2021
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Looking for a special trip together, a group of girlfriends heads out into the woods for a bachelorette party trip through the woods so that they can profess their feelings for each other, unaware that the stories about a cannibalistic troll hunting the area are true when they encounter the creature.
Review:
This was a decent enough if overall disappointing genre effort. Among the better elements with this one comes from the solid enough setup that allows this one to feature some fun enough interactions when it finally gets going. The central idea of getting the girls together and going through the bachelorette party trip into the woods for them to go on one more hike before the wedding makes everything fun enough to get everyone together in a way so that the different parts where the group is trying to put their past histories behind them to enjoy the trip. It allows us to get to know them so that when they arrive in the hunting grounds of the troll, as it comes to be true instead of just simple legends, that puts them out there in his path, so the abduction and general treatment of keeping them as hostages to fulfill his twisted desires is all handled well enough.
With the different interactions here focusing on the troll hunting them around the woods or taking them back to its shack in the woods to be used for his bidding, there’s some tense enough encounters trying to keep everything as safe as it all leads to some brutal situations involving the pregnant member of the group being serviced by the creature. These are far more impactful and chilling than they should be, with the creatures’ actions being quite understandably off-putting considering what’s going on around him and the harsh treatment towards the other girls if they disobey or try to escape. This has a dark and chilling vibe that helps to offset the cheesiness of the scenario presented. Given the great make-up effects on the troll and some of the different gore effects featured here, there are some really likable factors on display.
This one does have some issues with it that hold it down. The most glaring factor on display is the immensely unlikable and outright sluggish first half that takes an eternity to get its story going. The series of interactions featuring the team going through the woods, trying to accommodate the pregnant friend, or just constantly bringing up old wounds that should’ve been healed by now are just not that interesting, and since it’s a feature included quite often throughout this style, it tends to highlight this more than anything since it’s yet another in this style where it tries to present some hidden secret threatening a friend group that should’ve put it past them long before this point. On top of that, there’s also the film’s exceedingly obvious low-budget limitations that are present throughout here that put this at a lower tier quality than some will enjoy, keeping this one down overall.
Overview: ***/5
A decent enough creature feature, this one comes off well enough for what they are, while having a few drawbacks that hold it down, keeping it from getting any higher in the scene than where it lands. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here, while most others might want to heed caution.
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