Starring: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, and Lauren-Marie Taylor

Directed by Chris Nash

Shudder

 

When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods, the rotting corpse of a vengeful spirit is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it.

Chris Nash’s (ABCs of Death 2) Shudder horror movie is a curious beast, treading and unusual path which makes it an interesting, though not always successful, experiment.

This is a movie that has taken the tropes of an 80s slasher flick and replays them in a naturalistic manner. For example, we have our monster (Johnny) who stalks campers and those unlucky enough to be in the woods. He kills them in particularly gruesome ways – some visceral gore that earns the 18 certificate – but none of this activity is scored or edited to build up suspense.

The camera serves a spectator to the carnage, frequently following Johnny on long drawn-out stretches as he pounds the woods. When kills happen, they are presented like moments in an abattoir, and as viewers we feel like we’re onlookers at a car crash.

The final segment of the movie introduces us to another slasher mainstay – the final girl – and when she’s rescued at the end, all the associated cliches come in to play. Is her rescuer really on her side? Is the killer waiting to pounce in the closing seconds?

Verdict: I appreciate, what was trying to be achieved here, and all credit to the filmmakers for playing with the genre. It’s just that without the score or skilful editing it’s a bit dull. 6/10

Nick Joy