Backwoods Bloodbath is Like Two Movies Mashed Together
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In Backwoods Bloodbath the second half is well-acted, thrilling, and has a great plot twist. Unfortunately, the first half is painfully unfunny and filled with unlikable static stereotypes.
Written by James "Crypticpsych" Lasome
January 25, 2011
Buy on Amazon U.K.
Movie Trailer
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Release: October 2007 (Various US Film Festivals)
Directed by: Donn Kennedy
Written by: Donn Kennedy and Brandon Semling
Starring:
Jesse L. Cyr as Mark
Angela Lowe as Jessica
Josh Mijal as Brent
Dwight McMillan as Paul
Amy Quinn as Becky
Travis Ruhland as Cooper
Stop me if you've heard this one: A group of annoying teenagers head out into the country to a cabin in the woods for rest, drinking, relaxation, drinking, sex, drinking, and other such assorted debauchery. They consist of: Paul (the black guy, McMillan), Cooper (the jock, Ruhland), Becky (the slut, Quinn), "The Brent" (the head bully, Mijal), Jessica (the love interest, Lowe), and Mark (the outcast, Cyr). Along the way out into the Wisconsin wilderness, the group makes their expletive-laced way through a town populated by some of the most stereotypical hicks and rednecks possible. Some of these folks are scared of the legend of "The Black Hodag". The Hodag is an apparently supernatural creature that may or may not be linked to years of disappearances around the woods. Our cohorts, of course, disregard this and head back to the cabin where they proceed to drink�heavily, have copious sex, and make really terrible attempts at comedy. Of course, the same old grudges come up as almost everyone treats�Mark like dirt, Jessica being the only
one to stand up for him at all. Meanwhile, the Hodag wanders through the wilderness killing various characters in a hail of scythes and homemade blades and a flood of blood and red slime. What will happen if and when the Hodag reaches the cabin and who will survive his onslaught?
Honestly, Backwoods Bloodbath gets a lot BETTER, that IS what happens! The fatal flaw of Backwoods Bloodbath is that it's saddled with an awful first half filled with stale story, bullying caricatures, and general complete stupidity. While watching it, I couldn't shake the feeling that the director was trying to be Eli Roth as this seemed WAY too much like a less subtle Cabin Fever or Hostel's better-handled opening: annoying characters with a pathological need to curse, insult, and embarrass themselves around the locals. It's only VERY late in the first half that characters become likeable enough to latch onto, far too late to save the film from the 10-foot deep hole its introduction dug for it. Also, let's not forget that, just like Mr. Roth's work, Backwoods Bloodbath gets its admittedly pretty female characters in their underwear and less fairly frequently. I'm no prude, but when more than once in a movie the only thing in your camera shot is one or more bare breasts and nothing else, it's hard not to feel it's exploitative.
In fact, Backwoods Bloodbath really is a tale of two halves. In the first half of the movie, no characters are likeable, the Hodag kills random, virtually interchangeable side characters, etc. Jokes, for the most part, fall flat and characters never really develop beyond their chosen horror film stereotype. In the second half, the film takes a welcome dark and serious turn. The story gets intense and thrilling as the Hodag closes in, and a beauty of a plot twist hits that caught me completely off guard yet makes total sense on second viewing. The jokes fade into the background and characters actually DEVELOP, with Cyr and Lowe being this movie's shining stars! It was enough to make me wonder what would happen if Donn Kennedy had made the ENTIRE FILM this way! Unfortunately, though, he didn't. As great as the second half of this is, the first half is wretched enough to sink the whole movie with it.
�Two other nagging issues don't help either. For�one, The Hodag is no Freddy, Jason, or Michael. His weapons are 
menacing and the gore is plentiful and free-flowing, yes, but when you're being chased by what looks like a low-budget Predator rip-off going through the motions, the character isn't that scary. Secondly, the dialogue and effects dubbing in this film are atrocious. I lost count of how many times lines are dubbed in when filming outdoors so that characters speak without their lips moving. This is also an issue in one of the worst jokes in the film: as the Hodag closes in, Cooper ignores his friends' calls because he's only cares about the game on the radio. For one, the joke would have worked better if it had been used sparingly, not over and over. Worse, though, is that some of Cooper's cheers make no sense with what's dubbed on the radio (like cheering the moment after the ball's hiked).
In the end, Backwoods Bloodbath is a case of missed opportunities. Donn Kennedy does interesting things with color and camera work and presents a brilliant second half and climax, but all that work is destroyed by the abysmally bad, annoying, unfunny first half. When he makes his next film, maybe he should cut back on the painful attempts at humor and stick with his apparent serious storytelling strengths. I think he could make something truly great if he did.
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