Among the precious few only horror films I have seen and truly enjoyed in the past couple of years, this small, low-budget effort became something of a cause célèbre with genre fans, owing to the comic trailers ("It's not a remake. It's not a sequel. And it's not based on a Japanese one"). I was very happy to hear that it was screened at the Frightfest a second year running, apparently due to popular demand. Bravo Green & Co., your film belies its modest resources brilliantly.
While not original, the film makes a joke out of its origins, as a group of tourists go on a nocturnal swamp tour. Inevitably, they are set upon by a dark, deformed being, modelled on the basic backwoods monster, who cuts them down one by one. Ostensibly a horror comedy, the film is beautifully shot and lit, the murky swamp surroundings visualised with deep oranges, reds and yellows. The violence was ferocious but managed to be slapstick as well as frightening, and while the characters initially seem mere fodder, their petty squabbles and ludicrous survival plans made for oddly sophisticated comedy. One scene where they debate about what monstrosity might be hiding in a hedge had the cinema in gales of laughter.
What was most surprising was the element of real terror underpinning the parody: one scene in which a girl discovers her father's corpse and her subsequent hysterics was unexpected, likewise the sudden disappearances and labyrinthine swamp. For all its humour, the film functioned as a true horror film, and a true horror comedy, a quality precious few other - more expensive (no, I'm not a fan of Shaun of the Dead) - productions have achieved.
While not original, the film makes a joke out of its origins, as a group of tourists go on a nocturnal swamp tour. Inevitably, they are set upon by a dark, deformed being, modelled on the basic backwoods monster, who cuts them down one by one. Ostensibly a horror comedy, the film is beautifully shot and lit, the murky swamp surroundings visualised with deep oranges, reds and yellows. The violence was ferocious but managed to be slapstick as well as frightening, and while the characters initially seem mere fodder, their petty squabbles and ludicrous survival plans made for oddly sophisticated comedy. One scene where they debate about what monstrosity might be hiding in a hedge had the cinema in gales of laughter.
What was most surprising was the element of real terror underpinning the parody: one scene in which a girl discovers her father's corpse and her subsequent hysterics was unexpected, likewise the sudden disappearances and labyrinthine swamp. For all its humour, the film functioned as a true horror film, and a true horror comedy, a quality precious few other - more expensive (no, I'm not a fan of Shaun of the Dead) - productions have achieved.