Force of Evil

Rating: Null/10 (11 July 2017)

An unfortunate series of accidents leads to a group of college kids (who have seen 'Deliverance' one too many times) assuming that a couple of friendly hillbillies are psychotic murderers in this hilarious horror film that wittily subverts the 'backwoods brutality' subgenre. The film even begins, as one would expect, with the college kids in focus, scared out of their wits as the two hillbillies stare at them as they briefly drive by. Soon afterwards though, we are treated to the hillbillies' perspective and they remain empathetic throughout, especially as dead bodies pile up around them, completely oblivious to the fact that the college students think that they are serial killers. The fun diminishes somewhat as the pair realise that the college kids have a vendetta against them, but even so, the film remains interesting to watch as the brats essentially create their own downfalls, with their paranoia and instinctive distrust leading to their demise. Occasionally the film falls into clichÃ©, but there is something deliciously postmodern to the way the film daringly swims against genre expectations. The movie also manages to address some issues revolving around confidence and misunderstandings based on unfair assumptions and the title characters are fleshed out in incredible depth for such a short (under 90 minute) feature with both Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine great in the roles.