Film diary.

- Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. (US / Canada, 2010. Dir. Eli Craig). A group of college students head out to the woods for a little R&R. If only they weren’t surrounded by creepy hillbillies, the kind who are surely deranged killers waiting to dismember them, just like they say it happened about twenty years ago! At the hands of rednecks like Tucker and Dale, lifelong friends who are heading to the woods for a little R&R. If only they weren’t surrounded by those hysterical college kids, who look like they are planning a mass suicide in the woods! 

Sometimes, misunderstandings can be murder, of the most bloody hilarious kind. 

Horror movies starring evil rednecks (Deliverance; Wrong Turn; Calvaire; Just before dawn; etc. etc.) are a sub-genre as venerable as it’s full of certain, shall we say, problematic subtext. Specifically the recurrent notion of impoverished communities as savage monsters menacing upper- to middle- class citizens (preferably white, with maybe a couple token friends of color, of course!). This movie, then, spoofs those particular genre conventions by inverting the sympathies: A benevolent pair of mountain-folks pitted against a high-strung group of college kids led by a disturbed, proto-Incel-type ringleader. And in the middle, a sympathetic psychology student attempting to negotiate peace (and very much not up to the task, what with her being so injury-prone both groups are seriously concerned for her physical integrity). 

There are certain notes of social critique regarding established genre clichés, especially concerning classism and related social prejudices. Even so, this movie is ultimately not so much concerned with social commentary as it is with gleeful mayhem —it’s a very gory romp populated by some of the most jaw-dropping, astoundingly cartoonish cast I’ve seen since “Scream Queens” (and to be honest, that goes for both groups here). But it’s that anarchic spirit, the refusal to take anything too seriously, that lets this movie accomplish the most over-the-top visuals (case in point: What can be described as the ultimate “smoking kills” advertisement —as a character manages to blow herself up along with three other people just to get one final cigarette lit!). 

In short, a recommended romp for fans of genre movies with a sense of humor.