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| Tucker & Dale VS. Evil |
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
(Really Liked It)
Netflix Synopsis: Expecting to enjoy a relaxing vacation at their rundown mountain cabin, backwoods boys Tucker and Dale see their peaceful trip turn into a nightmare when college kids camping nearby accuse the duo of being psychotic killers.
The Peeps: Eli Craig (director, writer); Morgan Jurgunsen (writer); Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden
Quick Run Down: Funny, Gory, Entertaining as Hell
Worth the Watch?: Definitely!
Tucker & Dale VS. Evil opens on an SUV full of yuppie college kids embarking on a camping trip in the West Virginian mountains. They realize they forgot the beer (yeah, right!) and decide to stop at a convenience store. The kids gawk and grimace at the surroundings, hurriedly tip-toeing about in order to not catch that horrible, contagious disease - Hillbilly. Here enter the real protagonists of the story - Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine). Percieved by the kids as creepy, gruff, backwood hicks, Tucker and Dale are soon realized to be innocent and good-natured good ol' boys. Upon seeing the kids, namely Allison (Katrina Bowden), Dale opens up that he'll never get a girl like that, that he's not smart enough, good looking enough, etc, but Tucker comes to Dale's defense, telling Dale he just doesn't have enough confidence. That he needs to man up, take a chance. Inspired, Dale sets his eyes on the prize and goes up to Allison. It's an epic fail, but probably the funniest scene in the whole movie.
The rest of the movie transpires at or around Tucker and Dale's newly purchased 'vacation' home - a run down shack in the woods. While doing some late night fishing, Tucker and Dale stumble on the college kids skinny dipping. Allison is spied undressing before she gets into the water, and, as she gets in, she sees Tucker and Dale watching her, causing her to slip, fall, and hit her head. Dale jumps in to save Allison, but all the college kids see is a hillbilly dragging their half naked, unconscious friend into a boat in the middle of the night. They run off freaked out, screaming abduction, while Tucker and Dale rush back to their vacation home to nurse Allison. I know it's unheard of, especially in horror movie nowadays, but - see a theme?
Tucker & Dale VS. EvilI really works. Labine and Tudyk delivering very funny dialogue with great comedic timing individually and great chemisty together. When the movie drags (the few times that it does), these two still make it entertaining. I've never seen Labine in anything before, but he shines in Tucker & Dale as a compassionate teddy bear with a heart of gold. His delivery is mostly flawless, and his innocent, deer-in-the-headlights expressions are awesome. Tudyk's nuances are what make his performance so good, and, while he's mostly a vehicle for Dale's rise-to-hero, he's still funny and relevant. Ultimately, they're awesome together, and, save some of the kill sequences, make the movie.
The college kids don't really do much of anything but scream and get killed. There are like 7 of them ,(one of which I don't even think says anything in the film) and ALL of them are murder fodder. A big group allows more kills, and that idea is capitalized on. Tucker & Dale has tons of gore, and several kill scenes, all funny in their own little way. Unfortunately, the trailer (click on the title under the movie poster above to watch it!) gives away nearly everyone of the scenes, but they are still hilarious. Even more hilarious, though, is the idea that a horror movie can have a theme. Hell, it's not hilarious - it's ridiculous! But, by God, Tucker & Dale's got one, and praise-be to Craig and Jorgensun for being so bold and attempting to break the mold. T&D operates on the idea that stereotypes are dangerous (murderous, in this case) if relentlessly and adamantly adhered to. It asks us to consider a person before we assume what he or she is like. Deliverance ruined hillbilly and redneck reputations across the US, but T&D asks us to not be so quick to judge anymore. A hillbilly is just as loveable as a young, hip college kid (an idea that T&D flips on its head, also!), and the film takes this idea, applies it to the 'kids attacked by murderous backwoods freaks' horror convention and turns it on its head. The sum of that equation is a unique play on stereotypes and horror tropes that is clever, possibly thoughtful, and entertaining as all hell. Even without the this theme, the movie's quality and cheeky nature would still make it good, but the additional depth makes Tucker & Dale VS. Evil that much better. Kudos to it's creators for a job well done.
So, if you're looking for a gory ride with a buttloads of laughs, check out Tucker & Dale VS. Evil. It's hilarious, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's on Netflix!
Quick Run Down: Funny, Gory, Entertaining as Hell
Worth the Watch?: Definitely!
| Tucker's on the left; Dale's on the right. |
| Yeah - Dale could definitely pull that. |
Tucker & Dale VS. EvilI really works. Labine and Tudyk delivering very funny dialogue with great comedic timing individually and great chemisty together. When the movie drags (the few times that it does), these two still make it entertaining. I've never seen Labine in anything before, but he shines in Tucker & Dale as a compassionate teddy bear with a heart of gold. His delivery is mostly flawless, and his innocent, deer-in-the-headlights expressions are awesome. Tudyk's nuances are what make his performance so good, and, while he's mostly a vehicle for Dale's rise-to-hero, he's still funny and relevant. Ultimately, they're awesome together, and, save some of the kill sequences, make the movie.
So, if you're looking for a gory ride with a buttloads of laughs, check out Tucker & Dale VS. Evil. It's hilarious, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's on Netflix!
| Woody, The Wood Chipper, has officially changed his diet. |
"Dale! When you see a college girl prancing around in front of you naked, you do not yell out MY name!"
I need to see this
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