If it has not been a reboot or remake of an already established legacy character, not much new blood has really been shed in the slasher genre of horror. There have been note-worthy serial killer films, but not slashers in the vein of Friday the 13th or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The puritanical tone of Western Culture plays a part in this, as toxic masculinity is railed against in the court of public opinion, it makes the sensitive people pleasing souls of Hollywood capitulate. Canadian Film Maker Chris Nash, boldly leaves his thumbprint on the genre, with a different take that manages to be savage, yet introspective enough not to ruffle feathers.
Nash went about making the movie as if he was shooting a nature documentary. This film's title reflects how nature has nurtured the waking machine of violence that rises from the earth to go on the kind of rampage that is more familiar to horror fans. The pace at which this revenge is pursued is where it brings something new to the table. The scenery is often the focal point, and things come full circle to point to how the vast forest is scary in its own right with its isolating breadth. There is a hyper-realistic quality about the pacing and how everything is shot, the lack of tension built by a creepy score, yet when it gets time for violence, it's like they brought in the FX crew from "Terrifier". Some it I wish they had just read an anatomy book, rather than some of the absurd manner they try to contort a human body. This is not a deal breaker, but it keeps this from being a flawless master class in taking chance in horror to a very tasteful cult classic
At the halfway point of the year, this is likely the best horror movie so far, though there is not much competition with 'Late Night With the Devil" the only movie that comes close, and it is done in such a different manner the only thing the two films have in common is the fact they both fall within the horror genre. The movies with the biggest buzz like 'I Saw the TV Glow' just outright sucked, so much so I could not even bring myself to waste any more time thinking about it by reviewing it.. What this movie does right is doing something different that you can take seriously, and the willingness to indludge in sadism.
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