Tucker & Dale vs Evil Review

Posted by Joseph Lee on 08.28.2011

These kids have got to start being more careful!



Starring:

*Tyler Labine as Dale
*Alan Tudyk as Tucker
*Katrina Bowden as Allison
*Jesse Moss as Chad
*Chelan Simmons as Chloe
*Brandon Jay McLaren as Jason
*Alex Arenault as Todd
*Philip Granger as Sheriff

Story: Two lovable West Virginian hillbillies, are headed to their "fixer-upper" vacation cabin to drink some beer, do some fishin', and have a good time. But when they run into a group of preppy college kids who assume from their looks that they must be inbred, chainsaw wielding killers, Tucker & Dale's vacation takes a turn for the worse.

Trivia: This film is director Eli Craig's debut.

Appearances can be deceiving. That's the big lesson to take away from Tucker & Dale vs Evil, the new horror-comedy that has finally seen release after two years. The original trailer had a lot of people eager to see this film, but problems with finding proper distribution kept it on the shelf until finally Magnolia stepped in. Now it sees an early release On Demand before a theatrical run starting September 30.

Tucker and Dale stars two well-meaning country folk in Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine). Their trouble starts when Dale wants to talk to the attractive college girls and through his nervousness makes them think he's a psycho. As a horror fan, one wonders how many other movies of this kind began as simple misunderstandings. Maybe Leatherface was just a nice guy underneath wearing that human skin. Probably not, but it's a creative twist on a type of horror film that's been one of the go-to stories for years (right up there with zombies and vampires).

When Allison (Katrina Bowden) falls into a lake and hits her head, Dale dives in and rescues her. Due to the fact they think he's creepy, the college students think that instead he's kidnapped her. One even swears he saw them "eating her face off". What follows is a series of hilarious accidents that make the kids think our heroes are psycho killers and make Tucker & Dale think that the kids have a suicide pact. It's amazing how easily someone can die when they're not thinking straight.

That's the one word to describe this comedy: hilarious. The laughs keep on coming from beginning to end. The movie makes sure that you sympathize with Tucker & Dale early on so that when the cannon fodder start dying due to their own incompetence, it's really funny. It's a good horror-comedy, or dark comedy if you prefer, when you can laugh at some stupid kid diving headfirst into a wood chipper. Of course you have to be predisposed to that type of humor. If you don't find movies like Evil Dead 2 and Braindead to be funny, you're not going to think Tucker & Dale's brand of gory comedy to be all that funny either.

This movie is gory, which is probably why it can still claim to be something of a horror film. But like the previously mentioned Braindead, there's not a single suspenseful moment with all the bloodletting. It's a splatter-soaked farce with a lot of slapstick. The only difference is that this film would rather have the end result being brain matter on the ground instead of a pie in the face (has a pie in the face ever been funny?).

You can make a good comedy without characters you identify and root for (see something like Burn After Reading, for example), but we do have some here. Dale is a very well-meaning hillbilly who isn't as dumb as he looks, and Tyler Labine plays him with such sincerity that you can't help but like him. Meanwhile Alan Tudyk plays the straight man for Dale's antics (and they both are baffled by the college students' actions) and does a good job. The two have great comedic timing with each other and that makes the film much more fun.

The kids themselves don't see much character development, but that's the point. In any other slasher movie of this kind, they would be there to get killed quickly. Same thing here, just a different twist. The only one to see any type of development is Allison, who begins to form a bond with Dale after he saved her. Since they spend time with each other, the audience spends time with her and finds out that she's normal and the most level-headed of the entire group. This doesn't necessarily help, but it's a nice thought.

There were some issues I had, but they were relatively small compared to the entertainment received in exchange. There is some back story and motivation given right before the climax of the film that felt unnecessary. It also felt pointless considering how quickly the final scene is over after the information is revealed. But other than that, the movie did what it set out to do. The previously mentioned lack of character development for the victims is not a flaw, because that is how these movies work.

The film ends or begins, rather, with a sequel hook. It's odd placement I thought, but I wouldn't be opposed to another movie with these two hillbillies. I don't know how they could replicate the comedy of errors that sets up this film but the characters were fun and ninety minutes just isn't enough time spent with them. A Tucker & Dale 2 would be very welcome. In fact, I think fans should demand it.

The 411: Tucker & Dale vs Evil is a refreshing horror-comedy that pokes fun at slashers, while at the same time building quite a high body count. There's a lot of gore for splatter fans, and a very hilarious string of jokes for everyone else. It may be a kneejerk reaction to say this, but it's probably one of the best horror-comedies of the past ten years, certainly the best since Shaun of the Dead.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]