Yep, it’s that time of year again where I take it upon myself to review (and recommend) a horror movie, and for this year, I’m throwing my hat to Eli Craig’s 2010 horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs Evil. It’s become quite a cult hit in my opinion, and thanks to Netflix, the girlfriend and I have enjoyed it immensely. Part of its appeal to me might simply be how the gore works out, but much of it is because it’s horror comedy done right.
We’ve had a string of U.S. horror films that more or less paint hillbillies in a bad, or gruesome light, but TDvE turns that trope on its head by making a pair of them (the titular Tucker & Dale) our heroes. Thanks to some great direction, Tucker & Dale are met with intense suspicion in our film’s opening by your run of the mill college idiots who’ve come to the backwoods to party and be stupid. In reality however, they’re just two well-meaning brothers who’ve arrived to spruce up their new vacation home. What follows however is a hilarious mish-mash of coincidences, accidents and misunderstandings as our heroes are mistaken as killers by those same college idiots. This is especially so with Chad, the head honcho of this group who gets pretty unhinged as the movie progresses.
I’m a big fan of seeing movie tropes get turned on their heads every so often, and TDvE gets it right without any issues. The comedy here is hilarious, especially since the majority of it is concentrated on the kills which are either accidents, coincidences or are events that occur due to plain stupidity. I’ve done my best to avoid revealing too much about the film, but TDvE is a must watch in my book. The film’s got a neat way of portraying a horror film from a unique perspective, its source for comedic events is eclectic to say the least, and it even pokes fun at North American collegiate culture in ways that I found refreshing. Oh, and did I mention this movie is Canadian? Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a big bag of win, especially if you’re NOT a horror fan, so enjoy the Halloween festivities, grab a bunch of your friends and watch this movie!
Naika's Lounge 