Abbot and Costello meet Sam Raimi

Rating: 6/10 (27 August 2011)

What did I think? 3 of 5 stars. Really good for a slapstick comedy about a Tucker and Dale a couple good olé boys in WV (Canada really)who are looking to repair an old 'vacation' cabin Tucker bought. On the way to the cabin they encounter a van full of college that have seen one to many slasher films and think that the duo are 'creepy'. The best moment in the film may take place at the gas station where Dale tries to communicate with the college girls, Tyler Labine as Dale is talked in to trying to talk to the girls by his friend Tucker played by Alan Tudyk. Dale walks up to the girls following a can of liquid courage and unconsciously grabs a scythe with a 7 foot long handle. Tucker's best advise is to 'smile and laugh' which is undermined by Dale's underlying nervousness and low self worth. He walks up to the girls carrying a scythe, dirty and totally awkward. They look at him like he is as crazy as he looks. And it only gets worse as he tries to talk to them laughing and smiling manically which Tyler pulls off perfectly. From there the movie just moves into misunderstanding mode. The movie moves to the main setting of the backwoods cabin (very similar to the Evil Dead cabin) by the lake where the college kids are camping led by the unhinged frat boy Chad (Jesse Moss). He spooks his fellow campers, four men and three women, with a tale of a massacre in those woods 20 years ago. There are plenty of homages in this send up of slasher films of the 80's. Evil Dead, Friday the 13th and Elm Street are the obvious winks. The crux of the movie is that the over-amped and easily persuaded twenty-something college kids are quickly whipped into a frenzy by Chad when Allison falls off a rock at the lake while undressing and they view Tucker and Dale rescue her but in their eyes are kidnapping her. The good Samaritans take her back to their cabin when the kids run off in fear to find Chad. Chad is ready to fight to the death to find Allison who he fancies. He intimidates and recruits the rest from rationality and go after Tucker and Dale which only ends often hilarious examples of 1,000 Ways to Die. The movie lulls a little in the middle act but comes back together for the finale. Very solid movie, the script could have used a little more polishing but the characters are all very entertaining and there are some classic death scenes. Two good acts and one slow one but the movie is paced very well. Check this one out it will be far better than many of the major released horror movies in the theaters.
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