One of the most entertaining movies that I've seen in a long time.

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2012)

With hicks and horror having made such good bedfellows for such a long time, it's only natural that the concept should be exploited for its comedic value, and "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is brilliant in this regard.
Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine are the title characters, two likable good ol' boys who just want to relax and have a good time at their newly acquired vacation retreat, a run down old rural cabin. Into their lives come some rowdy college kids who get the wrong impression of Tucker & Dale, even more so when one of their own, Allison (Katrina Bowden), has an accident. Tucker & Dale come to her rescue, and the kids, having already formed their opinions of the pair, interpret the event negatively. As a result, they keep launching assaults on poor Tucker & Dale that end badly, with the kids managing to gruesomely kill themselves over and over in the process.
"Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is extremely bright, engaging, and knowing comedy taking a delightfully satiric approach to standard genre filmmaking. Granted, by nature of its story, it eventually, understandably turns into the very thing it's making fun of, but it's still very entertaining right from beginning to end. Not only does it make fun of certain stereotypes, but peoples' own preconceived notions, which can well be formed by the weight of so many straight faced movies of this kind. And it even works in a heartfelt message about self-esteem into its mix with real deftness.
Written by director Eli Craig and co-producer Morgan Jurgenson, this is high energy filmmaking that's often breathless enough, and compulsively watchable, that one may truly not notice the time passing, it's that enjoyable. What's great is how well Craig and Jurgenson set things up just so they can be misunderstood, such as the incident with the bees. The movie doesn't skimp on the gore, either, but it's always spun in such a funny fashion; as soon as we see that wood chipper, we're primed and ready to see it in action, and when we do, the result is uproarious.
Actors Tudyk and Labine, two engaging guys who really ought to see their stars rise after this, are perfect as Tucker & Dale. The lovely Bowden is an immensely appealing actress playing an immensely appealing character, who by the way, is another case of embodying the whole idea of there being more to an individual than meets the eye. And Jesse Moss is a real hoot as the demented frat boy hellbent on going after Tucker & Dale; he's in for a very apt revelation that he couldn't have anticipated.
And, in closing, while the whole "therapy" session does slow things down a bit, it's quite revelatory itself - how often in this sort of story do we actually see the opponents actually engage in a bit of (hopefully) civil airing of grievances?
Craig and his wife Sasha play the cameraman and reporter in the pre-credits sequence.
Nine out of 10.