jesse o
I've never been witness to a bachelor (or stag as it is known in the UK) weekend. A couple of my friends have gotten married, but it's just never happened. Part of me wonders how many bachelor(ette) parties are the dens of iniquity that films make them out to be. I'm certain there's a good percentage of them that end up with the attendees vowing to never speak of what happened ever again. Maybe a dead stripper or two too. It's probably a good idea that I'll never be someone's best man, because I would plan the absolute fucking worst bachelor party ever. Perhaps it wouldn't be the worst, because that's all relative, but I know it would certainly be very boring. My party planning abilities are among the very worst this world has ever seen. That's neither here nor there, though maybe I can show you all later how I would plan this bachelor party. And later I mean after the review is posted. Call me and we'll do lunch. But I digress, this film sees a group of friends heading to Argentina to hike the Andes (or some such shit) for one of their own's stag weekend. Naturally speaking, while there, these guys act like condescending pricks to the people and the culture. Because what's a movie like this, where a group of white (and one black) guys go to a foreign country and act as if all its inhabitants are peasants or thieves. That always endears you to these characters. You instantly love them and wish them all of the absolute best when they're being hunted down by this...figure from local folklore. Sarcasm aside, aside from Roy and maybe even Henry, the characters are insufferable douchebags. Part of me gets the idea out of making these characters so insufferable, the hunter feeds off of their 'darkness' and all it wants is for them to come to terms with what they've done or forgive one another for certain actions. But, again, it's difficult to care for these people when they're immense assholes to one another and those around them. The first half or so of the film is a bit of a red herring. They use the legend surrounding the Hunter and use it to craft an elaborate prank on one of the guys, Leon, who ***SPOILERS*** slept with Henry's fiancee. The prank goes wrong as Leon defends himself and stabs Terrence (probably the biggest asshole of the group) in the leg. Right after this is when the movie reveals its cards and the 'real' villain is revealed and it is...another Hunter. I get that the movie wanted to be clever and lead you down one road when it's really heading a different way. I appreciate the fact that they wanted to stay one step ahead of horror fans. But the fact that the villain of the film (the hunter) is the same one the guys used for their prank feels a little anticlimactic. Like everything, with introducing the myth and folklore behind the hunter, I felt like all that should have been a red herring to something more 'terrifying'. The villain being the same thing as the prank feels a little too repetitive. You're expecting something a little more and you're not given anything at all. And it's not even like what comes afterwards the shit really hits the fan is any better. It's just your normal cat and mouse game where the leads are being hunted down one by one. Another thing is the fact that the gore/blood/horror is practically nonexistent. I get that the whole idea behind the hunter is for you to own up to the darker parts of your past, whatever they may be, but the whole reasoning is a little absurd. It's not even like Jigsaw who killed you if you failed to value your life. That, in some messed up way, makes sense. But the hunter in this film kills you if you fail to come to terms with your dark past. I don't think it makes any sense whatsoever and it's a little absurd to buy into. I get that the hunter is a non-speaking character that, until the very end, you see only quick glimpses of, but at least give us something more to work with than just that reason for why he kills people. I wouldn't say that this is a bad movie, at least not in the conventional sense. It only gets 1.5 stars simply because of the fact that it just doesn't feel like any real effort was put into it. And that's obviously not true, I'm sure they worked hard on making the best film they possibly could and it just didn't pan out. But the whole film has a vibe of laziness surrounding it. It's predictable and its parts are made of other, better horror flicks. The acting is ok, nobody really stood out. I just feel that the fact most of the characters were unlikable assholes held this movie back. You just zone out early on given their behavior towards one another. Not the worst horror movie ever made, but I can't really recommend this. Outside of a decent first half "twist" there's nothing about this movie that I really liked. The characters suck, the narrative is very lackluster and the horror is practically nonexistent. This movie was begging for a sense of humor to add some actual entertainment and, yet, it had none. I wouldn't really recommend watching this when there's films like The Void or Devil's Candy still available on Netflix.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It's not bad, but the underlying premise/motivation doesn't make sense and character development is pretty weak.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this, but I loved it. Very funny, very scary. A great action packed plot which unfolds against the stunning backdrop of the Andes. Wonderfully directed and acted. Highly recommended.
Beautifully shot, brilliantly directed, wonderfully acted. It is by turns hilarious, terrifying and moving. The twist which comes half way through the movie is great, and makes you reconsider what kind of film you're watching. The backdrop of the Andes is truly beautiful.
Highly recommended.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
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