Dir: Eli Craig
Star: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss
Phil’s rating: C+
I remember really enjoying this film. The first time I saw it. However… This time? From my notes: “perfunctorily decent”. This is a film that sets its stall out early as, on their way to enjoy some wilderness time in a remote log-cabin, a lithe and lissom group of entitled twenty-somethings bump into to local-yokels, and it’s from this that a bump becomes a molehill (one accompanied by much death). Their first meeting on the road and then in the small petrol-station store all sets the tone nicely, and if you gravitate towards Seth McFarlane’s silly and childish humour then you’ll find much to enjoy, just be aware that the force is strong with this one!
The whole film is basically the humorous conceit of turning the ‘kids in the woods stalked by dangerous locals’ trope on it’s head. Sort of. For it seems that these lithe young things have seen such movies before and are well prepared to misunderstand and overreact at every point, whilst our eponymous heroes, the slick-talking Tucker (Alan Wray Tudyk) and the bumbling-doofas Dale (Tyler Labine), continue to, well, bumble around.
- “We got your friend!”
- “We don’t need the police, we can handle this on our own…”
And the scene is set after Alison (Katrina Bowden), the least objectionable of the collected lithes, bumps her head whilst skinny dipping, necessitating rescue by T&D. Now, if by around 31 minutes you are wondering why you are watching the film, then give up. It will get no better. To its credit the film is well paced, lean and spritely, likely aware of how thin the basic concept can be stretched before breaking. The players also take their parts with smoothly accomplished elan with Jesse Moss as Chad also worthy of a name-check, with the cinematography and direction being well up to par for this ‘weight of material’.
Along the way, whilst some of the moments are a little too easy to spot coming, many aren’t and most are deliciously silly, with a good mix of physical and situational comedy. There are several scenes that I won’t spoil, but the chainsaw wielding chase is a good example of well executed physical comedy (and a very ‘ouchy’ death).
- “Grab a leg… he’s heavy for half a guy…”
- “Officer… we have had a doozy of a day…”
Finally, at about the half-way point, Tucker and Dale start to wonder about the ‘suicide-pact’ nature of their neighbours. But let’s not worry for it’s but a passing moment, and instead let’s restart the conveyor-belt of death.
- “This vacation sucks!”
Now, as is common in my reviews, I’ve not given you much of the plot and that’s for good reason. For, beyond the basic premise, this is really a sequence of mostly visual and situational gags (and deaths) held in line by a fairly thin thread. There are a few minor twists along the way, but none of significant girth to worry yourselves about, nor disrupt the ongoing silliness.
My closing notes: “C. It’s an okay film. Not great, not that good, but it is good enough. Just not great. This is a four beers film (premium EU strength). Gently very silly and oddly warm/affectionate. C”
So here we are, a few days later, and in typing this review up, reflecting on the many silly stupidities within, I find that my original warmth towards this confection has returned. My suggestion is to go in with reasonably low expectations, expect silliness, and enjoy the ride (along with some premium beers). Or bale out at 31 minutes. C+
Jim’s rating: C
I’m not a fan of meta-horror. By which I mean, horror films where you need to know about horror films to appreciate them. To me, it largely negates the suspension of disbelief, which is perhaps more essential for this genre than any other. Zombie films, for example, largely only work if the protagonists have never seen a zombie film. There are occasional exceptions – One Cut of the Dead knocked the concept out of the park. But in general, if there’s anything that’s worse than meta-horror, it’s meta-meta-horror, where the characters are aware on one level, but the audience is aware on a higher one. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is perhaps the prime example of this cinematic conceit, whose purpose seems to be to make the viewer feel smart.
The other problem with this entry in the comedy-horror field is, it doesn’t work for me as either comedy or horror. In particular, it feels like two different films, one from each genre bolted together. It begins as splatstick, though doesn’t have much to offer there beyond people tripping over things to their doom. But the second half then largely forgets to be funny, and is a basic role reversal, with a psychotic college kid stalking hillbillies. It does not make for particularly good horror either. It’s the reversal which is the film’s sole raison d’etre. What if the rednecks were entirely innocent, and just looked like they were offing the urban folks? What is done with the concept here, is definitely left wheezing at feature length.
Admittedly, rewatching it for the purposes of this article, I don’t think I disliked it quite as much as on initial viewing. But I kinda wish I had, because at least it would have made me feel something. The humour never provoked a reaction greater than making me go “Heh” on a couple of occasions, and even that is more than the horror elements generate. But I guess when your mom is double Oscar winner Sally Field, you too can be handed $5 million for your first movie, then have it premiere at Sundance. It feels like Craig is too focused on his heavy-handed message about toxic masculinity, in the shape of Chad. I suspect it’s significant that all he has directed in fifteen years since is a direct to Netflix movie, Little Evil, plus the recently released Clown in a Cornfield – and what I’ve heard about the latter, makes it seem dumber than its title.
If this had wanted to be truly subversive, it should have gone far deeper before revealing Tucker and Dale to be harmless. Part of the problem is, Labine and Tudyk are never remotely credible as killers – so the reveal they are not, comes as no surprise at all. Another element which doesn’t work for me is the one about Chad’s mother having been a victim of exactly the sort of redneck mayhem the film is trying to subvert. I guess it’s intended to give Chad some kind of motivation for his violence. But it’s completely contrived, and comes out of nowhere – and if it had such a deep and traumatic impact on him, why is he happily holidaying in Hillbilly Central?
I have seen worse, certainly. Labine and Tudyk have decent comic timing – it’s just that the material is not very funny to start with. As horror-comedy it’s painfully mid – I stand by my previous statement, it’s a horror movie for people who don’t like horror movies – and not a patch on the true titans of the genre.