Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a Canadian movie from 2010 that made the festival circuit and garnered plenty of critical praise. It came out for a very limited release in the US last month (I don't think it's playing in theaters anymore, at least not in Manhattan), but the DVD is set to drop later in November, and you can rent it on Amazon Instant Video right now if you can't wait that long. Which you can't, because I can't think of a better movie to watch this Halloween.
The idea of comedy horror has been around for a while. The genre was most prominent with the Scary Movie franchise (I liked the first one but the sequels were horrific and not in a good way), and then got a much-needed reboot with the classic Shaun of the Dead. However, recent horror films have focused more on inducing plain terror and being as gory as possible. There's nothing wrong with straight-up horror films, but I had to object once we started getting into the insanely perverse realm of Human Centipede (how could anyone even ALLOW that movie to be made, and how could it be enough of a success to warrant a sequel?). Horror seemed like it was taking itself too seriously again, but then along came two unassuming hillbillies named Tucker and Dale.
The premise of this movie is absurdly delightful. Tucker (Alan Tudyk from Firefly, yay!) and Dale (Tyler Labine, the lovable guy from Reaper) are two hillbillies who are looking forward to spending some time in the woods to renovate Tucker's newly-purchased vacation home. On the way there they run into a group of college kids who are also headed to the woods for a drunken camping expedition. The college kids are instantly freaked out by Tucker and Dale, judging the duo based on their rather slovenly appearance and lack of social graces. As horror films have trained us to believe, hillbillies are leering and creepy, so the college kids immediately cast Tucker and Dale as the villains of the piece.
Later that night, the kids are skinny-dipping in the lake at the same time that Tucker and Dale are engaging in a spot of night fishing. One of the girls, Allison (Katrina Bowden from 30 Rock), strays away from the group and decides to jump into the lake from a height. Unfortunately, she is surprised when she sees the hillbillies in the distance, slips on the rocks, and crashes into the water. Tucker and Dale quickly row over and rescue her. As the college kids fearfully look on, Tucker yells out "We've got your friend!" Instead of realizing this is merely a statement of fact and they should go over and retrieve their concussed colleague, the kids (who didn't see Allison slip and fall) are convinced that the hillbillies have knocked her out and are kidnapping her for nefarious reasons. They run away screaming, while the bemused hillbillies look on and decide that maybe the college kids will just come to the cabin in the morning to pick up their friend.
In the morning, Allison wakes up, is initially scared out of her wits when Dale comes into her room with a plate of pancakes, but quickly discovers that he is harmless and that she was wrong to judge him so quickly. Unfortunately, the college kids do not know this. Certain that their friend has been kidnapped, they decide to attack the cabin and rescue Allison from the evil hillbillies. And thus begins the most hysterical hour of gory mayhem that you could possibly imagine. While Tucker and Dale remain unscathed, the kids keep accidentally killing themselves during their rescue efforts. It sounds ridiculous (because it is) but it's also devilishly clever and the method of each killing gets progressively more gory, more gruesome, and more hilarious. Of course the surviving kids think that their friends are being murdered by the hillbillies, but Tucker and Dale are just perplexed and terrified as the bodies keep mounting on their property. Each side is completely unaware of what the other side thinks of them and never before has a simple misunderstanding resulted in such a rapid body count.
The manner of these accidental killings is the best part of the movie so I won't detail any of them here. This is also why you really shouldn't watch the theatrical trailer for the movie, because it gives away the funniest bits of the film and will spoil almost the entire story for you. Just trust me, this is a fantastic premise, with a complete role reversal of the traditional concepts of horror villains and victims (after all, since when are the scared college kids the ones in a murderous rage while the hillbillies are perfectly docile?), enough gore to satisfy your horror cravings, enough humor and frantic one-liners to satisfy your comedy needs, and enough heart to make you root for Tucker and Dale as they fight Evil. My only problem with the movie is that it is entirely too short, but that is probably its greatest strength. This is mostly a one-joke premise, but the film mines that one joke for all the comedy gold it can muster, and wraps everything up neatly before it stops being funny.
Halloween is a day for both spooky horror and fun-filled celebration. There is no more perfect way to celebrate this Monday than spending 89 minutes with Tucker & Dale and reveling in the return of comedy horror.
The idea of comedy horror has been around for a while. The genre was most prominent with the Scary Movie franchise (I liked the first one but the sequels were horrific and not in a good way), and then got a much-needed reboot with the classic Shaun of the Dead. However, recent horror films have focused more on inducing plain terror and being as gory as possible. There's nothing wrong with straight-up horror films, but I had to object once we started getting into the insanely perverse realm of Human Centipede (how could anyone even ALLOW that movie to be made, and how could it be enough of a success to warrant a sequel?). Horror seemed like it was taking itself too seriously again, but then along came two unassuming hillbillies named Tucker and Dale.
The premise of this movie is absurdly delightful. Tucker (Alan Tudyk from Firefly, yay!) and Dale (Tyler Labine, the lovable guy from Reaper) are two hillbillies who are looking forward to spending some time in the woods to renovate Tucker's newly-purchased vacation home. On the way there they run into a group of college kids who are also headed to the woods for a drunken camping expedition. The college kids are instantly freaked out by Tucker and Dale, judging the duo based on their rather slovenly appearance and lack of social graces. As horror films have trained us to believe, hillbillies are leering and creepy, so the college kids immediately cast Tucker and Dale as the villains of the piece.
Later that night, the kids are skinny-dipping in the lake at the same time that Tucker and Dale are engaging in a spot of night fishing. One of the girls, Allison (Katrina Bowden from 30 Rock), strays away from the group and decides to jump into the lake from a height. Unfortunately, she is surprised when she sees the hillbillies in the distance, slips on the rocks, and crashes into the water. Tucker and Dale quickly row over and rescue her. As the college kids fearfully look on, Tucker yells out "We've got your friend!" Instead of realizing this is merely a statement of fact and they should go over and retrieve their concussed colleague, the kids (who didn't see Allison slip and fall) are convinced that the hillbillies have knocked her out and are kidnapping her for nefarious reasons. They run away screaming, while the bemused hillbillies look on and decide that maybe the college kids will just come to the cabin in the morning to pick up their friend.
In the morning, Allison wakes up, is initially scared out of her wits when Dale comes into her room with a plate of pancakes, but quickly discovers that he is harmless and that she was wrong to judge him so quickly. Unfortunately, the college kids do not know this. Certain that their friend has been kidnapped, they decide to attack the cabin and rescue Allison from the evil hillbillies. And thus begins the most hysterical hour of gory mayhem that you could possibly imagine. While Tucker and Dale remain unscathed, the kids keep accidentally killing themselves during their rescue efforts. It sounds ridiculous (because it is) but it's also devilishly clever and the method of each killing gets progressively more gory, more gruesome, and more hilarious. Of course the surviving kids think that their friends are being murdered by the hillbillies, but Tucker and Dale are just perplexed and terrified as the bodies keep mounting on their property. Each side is completely unaware of what the other side thinks of them and never before has a simple misunderstanding resulted in such a rapid body count.
The manner of these accidental killings is the best part of the movie so I won't detail any of them here. This is also why you really shouldn't watch the theatrical trailer for the movie, because it gives away the funniest bits of the film and will spoil almost the entire story for you. Just trust me, this is a fantastic premise, with a complete role reversal of the traditional concepts of horror villains and victims (after all, since when are the scared college kids the ones in a murderous rage while the hillbillies are perfectly docile?), enough gore to satisfy your horror cravings, enough humor and frantic one-liners to satisfy your comedy needs, and enough heart to make you root for Tucker and Dale as they fight Evil. My only problem with the movie is that it is entirely too short, but that is probably its greatest strength. This is mostly a one-joke premise, but the film mines that one joke for all the comedy gold it can muster, and wraps everything up neatly before it stops being funny.
Halloween is a day for both spooky horror and fun-filled celebration. There is no more perfect way to celebrate this Monday than spending 89 minutes with Tucker & Dale and reveling in the return of comedy horror.
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