Wednesday 5 October 2011

ONE TO WATCH: TUCKER & DALE Vs EVIL (DVD)


"Twenty years on from the day of the Memorial Day Massacre a group of college kids venture out into the woods for a camping vacation, only for one of them to get kidnapped by a pair of murderous hillbillies intent on killing everything in their path. So far so unoriginal. Only, this time, the hillbillies in question are Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine), two best friends taking a break at their dilapidated mountain house.

When their peace is disturbed by the arrival of the obnoxious teenagers, and one of the kids, Allie (Katrina Bowden), almost drowns, they try to lend a hand and are instantly mistaken for vile mass murderers. Obviously, they try to put things right, but the misunderstanding grows along with the body count in the most original horror comedy of the year.

Seriously gory, seriously funny - Tucker and Dale Vs Evil gets you right from its ingenious opening and never lets up. Labine is the star here, but his friendship with Tudyk is so engaging it's like watching Dumb and Dumber (1994) for the very first time. Only with some serious blood shed and flavoursome eye candy in Allie. Bowden is almost as likeable as her new best friends, and although frustrating to begin with, a neat twist allows villain Chad (Jesse Moss) to really ham it up. 

Inventive, even after all the horror cliches are deliciously butchered, while single-handedly destroying the sub-genre it parodies (you'll never be able to watch Wrong Turn again, which is a blessing), the ending is a slight let down, in that it isn't quite as believable as a couple of hillbillies murdering a group of college kids by accident should be. Still, that Dale seems like a nice fella, and this short and so very sweet offering from director Eli Craig certainly demands some kind of sequel. Bill and Ted got away with it."                            DW


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