Really Funny and Surprisingly Tender for an R-Rated Horror/Comedy

Rating: 9/10 (3 November 2017)

Tucker and Dale is so good in many different ways but the first and most noticeable is the very believable friendship between the characters. The movie is deliberately playing into the stereotype that the backwood hillbillies are always the villains and it makes the movie smarter than your average horror movie. But I couldn't help but be taken aback by how sweet Tucker and Dale's bond is. They aren't the sharpest tools in the shed (especially Dale) but you would swear Tudyk and Labine had been hanging out for years. Add in the fact that Allison is well rounded and willing to look past Dale and Tucker's appearance (even to the point where it's a tad unrealistic) and you have some genuinely fun and interesting characterization. Hitting the mark on this aspect will paper over some of the movie's flaws and this part is so exemplary, you would swear this was written by Edgar Wright (Labine/Tudyk reminded me of Pegg and Frost in the best possible way).
Of course, if the actors and actresses hadn't held up their end, the writing wouldn't be as evident. I can't credit Tudyk and Labine enough, they both completely sell out as their characters and they both perform admirably. They work well together, and they work well individually, and they had me rolling I was laughing so hard. Katrina Bowden is also great as Allison. She's gorgeous but she's also funny in her own right. She helps sell an unrealistic romance that could have been groan inducing. The other actors and actresses get the job done in their respective parts.
Lest you think this is a straight comedy, Tucker and Dale vs Evil packs all the gore you want in a hard R-Rated horror movie. Tucker and Dale aren't directly responsible for the horrible fates that the "college kids" all suffer and each of them are maimed or killed in a unique and funny way. Limbs are lost, buckets of blood are sprayed, and one character is even halved (I won't spoil how). If you're a little squeamish, this movie isn't on the level of torture porn but its far from PG-13 material (there are good PG-13 horror movies, but you must go one direction or the other, Tucker and Dale vs Evil isn't one that's up in the air).
Most importantly for a horror/comedy, this movie is hilarious from start to finish. Craig and Jurgenson are smart enough writers to know which horror clichés to play with and the movie is packed full of winks and nods to where horror movies usually go. I always appreciate a movie that can effectively include meta humour and this is one of the sharper examples. The material becomes even funnier with the endearing sweetness in the delivery from the cast.
The missteps in this movie are small and completely forgivable. Chad becomes a little too over-the-top by the end and although what they decide to do with his character is interesting, it stretches plausibility. I don't know if its how the character is written or Jesse Mosses performance. Some of the kills are better than others but there aren't any that are embarrassingly bad.
The cult following this movie has garnered is well deserved. I got shades of Wright/Pegg/Frost from this but this movie stands on its own and deserved to be seen by a wider audience. I would love to see a sequel to this if the could retain the key pieces and find some new things to point fun at. If you're thinking about checking this out, I would recommend you do so.