 Show 9/10 Bloody and Bloody Hilarious. Warning: Spoilers Tucker & Dale vs Evil is directed by Eli Craig who also co-writes the screenplay with Morgan Jurgenson. It stars Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden and Jesse Moss. Music is by Michael Shields and Andrew Kaiser and cinematography by David Geddes. Plot has Tudyk and Labine as two harmless mountain/country men who head to their newly acquired vacation home in the woods to fix it up and get some R & R. But after a misunderstanding at a roadside store with some college kids, who think Tucker & Dale are hillbilly psychopaths, the wheels are set in motion for a bloody battle for survival, but who for?! In 1996 Scream came slashing forward to inject witty life into a fading horror genre, with freshness and inventive splinters from the slasher formula, Wes Craven's movie rocked the horror faithful's world. Tucker & Dale vs Evil will not have the same impact, its limited release and low budget worth ensured it never had a chance of being a big thing, but still it's the freshest horror/comedy to have come out since Scream made its bloody bow at the box office. It's such a simple idea at the core, you have to wonder why it wasn't thought of before? Craig and Jurgenson have flipped the age old Hillbilly Killers vs Preppy College Kids idea on its head, and in the process smothered it gleefully with dark humour, laugh out loud moments and inventive deaths. There's also some social comedy nestled nicely in the narrative, big points about first impressions and ideas of stereotypes, and hell yes! There's even an opposites attract arc - though that admittedly helps to bog the picture down as the central joke premise runs out of steam towards the end. In fact were it not for a relatively sloppy finale, this would surely be falling into sub-genre classic status. Thankfully all that comes before it is so full of vim and vigour, blood and bluff and fun and frolics, it's not hard to forgive the debut director his one misstep. The neat trick is having the film unfold from the Hillbillies viewpoint, where the carnage that unspools gets increasingly difficult for them to explain, this in spite of their innocence. Each death is logical to the college kids who go on the attack when one of their number, they think, is kidnapped. And it's logical to us the audience as well, were it not for us being privy to these wonderfully funny sequence of events, we too would have them hung, drawn and quartered after a guilty verdict was reached in 10 seconds. This is the ultimate horror/comedy flip-flop movie. So many funny sequences light up the picture, with a chainsaw scene one of the finest moments to have ever graced a horror comedy movie, but the dialogue, too, is not found wanting in the fun and charming department. Cast are on top form, with Tudyk & Labine a most agreeable double act, where their comedy timing is impeccable, and Bowden & Moss are more than just pretty faces. Craig (Sally Field's son) has started with a bang, if he can top this then he is a name to really get excited about. If he can't top it? Well he will at least always have one of the best horror comedy movies on his CV. Yes it's that good, fans of Scream, Severance, Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland should seek it out post haste. 8.5/10 36 out of 37 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 9/10 Best Horror Parody Since SHAUN OF THE DEAD Good things come to those who wait, and I've waited for this movie for long enough. I'd wanted to see this movie from the first time I stumbled across the synopsis and learned that Alan Tudyk would be playing one of the title characters. Instant win. I knew there was little chance that this movie would be anything but awesome, and I was proved right when it was released at long last on home video (since I wasn't lucky enough to live in one of the few cities blessed with it's limited release). It's a new spin on the classic horror movie cliché of the deranged hillbillies terrorizing innocent victims in the woods. In this case, Tucker and Dale are a couple of good ol' boys heading out to the West Virginia wilderness to renovate Tucker's new vacation home/cabin in the woods. A handful of college students have also decided to make use of the backwoods for a camping trip, where they mistake the pair of bumbling rednecks as psycho killers. The misunderstanding leads to a series of unfortunate events where the college kids begin accidentally dying off in gruesome fashion, only solidifying their fear in the harmless hillbillies. TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL is equal parts comedy and horror movie in a perfect balance of the two genres from director Eli Craig (who hasn't really got much else under his belt, directing-wise). This movie is guaranteed to achieve cult status once word gets around about how awesome this movie is. It's such a simple idea that I'm really surprised it hasn't been done before. It's just a simple 180º twist on the sort of horror we've seen in Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE or THE HILLS HAVE EYES. Tucker and Dale are a couple of simpletons played to perfection by Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine. They really just want to enjoy a simple vacation of fishing and renovations when the posse of judgmental college kids led by Chad (with his own dark side) arrive and fudge it all up. Alan Tudyk is awesome in pretty much anything I've seen him in. I honestly can't think of a single instance where his character was a weak spot in any film or TV show. He's given the spotlight as one of the title characters for once, and he makes an excellent redneck. Tucker is the more levelheaded, headstrong leader of the duo who's not really interested in the new arrivals and wishes they'd just have kept to themselves. Dale (Labine) is the socially inept doofus who develops a crush on beautiful Allison after rescuing her from a near drowning and essentially setting off the chain of bloody events. He steps into the hero role as he gradually comes out shell to Allison and stands up against Chad and his crew. Katrina Bowden fulfills her basic obligations as the blossoming love interest Allison, a beautiful girl with a hot cheerleader vibe and a heart of gold who's willing to overlook Tucker and Dale's social status. Of the remaining college crew, the only standout is of course Jesse Moss as Chad. The kid is demented and reeks of cheese, but his campiness suits the tone of the movie so you can't complain. In my opinion, this is the best horror movie parody since Edgar Wright's SHAUN OF THE DEAD. It succeeds in all the aspects of a good comedy/horror movie that the SCARY MOVIE franchise (primarily any the sequels) fails at. The jokes in the movie are hilarious, thanks for Tudyk and Labine. And the kills in the movie can be just as gruesome as any mainstream horror film; I'd give examples but, as with any horror/slasher movie, I don't really want to spoil any potential kills. Everything in this movie works great with the exception of the third act. After the characters leave the main cabin in the woods location and arrive at the final conflict in a saw mill, it loses some steam. Maybe because it drops the horror parody vibe I'd been enjoying for the previous hour, but the whole end confrontation felt like a misstep. It doesn't exactly ruin the movie, it just didn't feel like it fit for me. As a whole, I really loved this movie and I expect it'll garner a pretty nice following on DVD/Blu-ray. The filmmakers have done an awesome job here and all I ask is that they enjoy the movie's success without tarnishing its awesomeness with an unnecessary sequel. I don't want to see more TUCKER AND DALE hijinks; their battle with evil was cool enough on it's own. 27 out of 27 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 A cult movie in the making... Holy... This movie was just phenomenal. I thought I was in for a comedy, but "Tucker & Dale vs Evil" was more than just your average comedy. This movie definitely have potential to become a cult classic. You take a pinch of classic mid-80's horror movie, throw in a dash of dark, twisted comedy, and top it off with wonderful characters, and voilà, you have "Tucker & Dale vs Evil". The story is very good and interesting. You have two "hill billies", pardon my expression, but it is what they are called in the movie, Tucker and Dale who are heading into the woods to fix up their newly bought cabin. Then you have a group of college teenagers out in the woods partying and drinking (fairly typical 80's theme right there). Then with the turns of events the groups run into one another. The teenagers thinking that Dale and Tucker are hill billy killers, while Dale and Tucker only want to get Allison back to them. And from there on, things escalate and become hilarious. "Tucker & Dale vs Evil" have just the right amount of gore, blood, sick comedy and funny situations in it to make it all work so well. I was thoroughly entertained from beginning till end. And I must say that this movie is way up there on my list of favorite movies. The way that the people die in the movie is off the charts. I loved those scenes, especially because their deaths were usually self-inflicted, which just added to the absurdity of the movie plot. The cast in the movie was great, especially Dale (played by Tyler Labine) and Tucker (played by Alan Tudyk) were phenomenal. They really brought so much chemistry to the characters and made it an unforgettable movie. If you haven't already seen "Tucker & Dale vs Evil", then get in gear and do so, because this movie is definitely one you don't want to miss out on. Once in awhile you just stumble upon a cult classic by accident or sheer luck, "Tucker & Dale vs Evil" is one of those movies. 16 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 Masterpiece of Horror Comedy Eli Craig did a masterful job in presenting the best horror comedy since "Suck." Playing on the tried and true "Flinstones Plot" of miscommunication that may drive some viewers crazy, Craig brings the gore and the humor with great special effects and wonderful acting. Best of all, of course, the story is solid with an interesting and poignant antagonist development that is extremely impressive. Better still, the laughs aren't cheap and silly. And if you live in the southern United States and hate how "southern folk", "backwoods families" and "hillbillies" are exploited for horror purposes, you'll love this tremendous twist on such a overused and ill-conceived cliché. This is one of the greatest horror comedies ever presented on film. 57 out of 58 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Not enough publicity for such a great film!, I can't believe that such an amazing film had so little publicity or distribution - I am so excited that it will finally be released! As an avid horror fan, I had no expectations for Tucker and Dale. I basically watch anything and everything, and seeing as this was low-budget with very little publicity, I underestimated this. It has since become one of my favourite movies ever. Alan Tudyk is fantastic as always, and I had never seen Tyler Labine before but he basically steals the show. While the films it's ripping are pretty foul, T+D still manages to have a lot of heart, and Labine's character is so adorable! This does for The Hills Have Eyes what Shaun did for Dawn Of The Dead, while kicking Zombieland in the privates. Unmissable. This film has instant cult classic written all over it as the standard hillbilly survival horror is turned on its head. Two lovable bumpkins have to fight for their lives when a set of misguided teens think the well meaning duo are out to kill them in Texas Chainsaw / Deliverance style. You can't help but root for the hapless pair but also groan in enjoyable frustration as the teens start to drop dead in lots of extremely gory accidents. A total joy from start to finish. 93 out of 97 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 9/10 One of the most entertaining movies that I've seen in a long time. Warning: Spoilers With hicks and horror having made such good bedfellows for such a long time, it's only natural that the concept should be exploited for its comedic value, and "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is brilliant in this regard. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine are the title characters, two likable good ol' boys who just want to relax and have a good time at their newly acquired vacation retreat, a run down old rural cabin. Into their lives come some rowdy college kids who get the wrong impression of Tucker & Dale, even more so when one of their own, Allison (Katrina Bowden), has an accident. Tucker & Dale come to her rescue, and the kids, having already formed their opinions of the pair, interpret the event negatively. As a result, they keep launching assaults on poor Tucker & Dale that end badly, with the kids managing to gruesomely kill themselves over and over in the process. "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" is extremely bright, engaging, and knowing comedy taking a delightfully satiric approach to standard genre filmmaking. Granted, by nature of its story, it eventually, understandably turns into the very thing it's making fun of, but it's still very entertaining right from beginning to end. Not only does it make fun of certain stereotypes, but peoples' own preconceived notions, which can well be formed by the weight of so many straight faced movies of this kind. And it even works in a heartfelt message about self-esteem into its mix with real deftness. Written by director Eli Craig and co-producer Morgan Jurgenson, this is high energy filmmaking that's often breathless enough, and compulsively watchable, that one may truly not notice the time passing, it's that enjoyable. What's great is how well Craig and Jurgenson set things up just so they can be misunderstood, such as the incident with the bees. The movie doesn't skimp on the gore, either, but it's always spun in such a funny fashion; as soon as we see that wood chipper, we're primed and ready to see it in action, and when we do, the result is uproarious. Actors Tudyk and Labine, two engaging guys who really ought to see their stars rise after this, are perfect as Tucker & Dale. The lovely Bowden is an immensely appealing actress playing an immensely appealing character, who by the way, is another case of embodying the whole idea of there being more to an individual than meets the eye. And Jesse Moss is a real hoot as the demented frat boy hellbent on going after Tucker & Dale; he's in for a very apt revelation that he couldn't have anticipated. And, in closing, while the whole "therapy" session does slow things down a bit, it's quite revelatory itself - how often in this sort of story do we actually see the opponents actually engage in a bit of (hopefully) civil airing of grievances? Craig and his wife Sasha play the cameraman and reporter in the pre-credits sequence. Nine out of 10. 21 out of 22 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 "Oh hidy-ho officer, We've had a doozy of a day" What a wonderful, light hearted, enjoyable movie, with a great cast and a great story, you'll find yourself in stitches at the scenarios in this movie. How some the characters end up dying is just priceless, and our Tucker and Dale justifying what is going on as logically as they can. I just loved tucker and dale, the actors are just amazing, and seeing Alan in any project is always a welcome delight. A strong recommendation if your looking for a good flick to check out, get some good popcorn in, sit back and enjoy! 67 out of 68 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Wonderful! Warning: Spoilers Anyone who is a fan of the horror genre will want to add this to their Netflix queue, or better, see it in a theater, because laughter shared is better than laughing alone. "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" does for the Hillbilly slasher/chainsaw massacre genre exactly what "Evil Dead 2" did for the demon possession genre and what "Shaun Of The Dead" did for zombies. It takes the well-worn, done-hundreds-of-times conventions of horror movies and turns them into side-splitting (as opposed to skull-splitting) humor. The basic plot is that Tucker (Alan Tudyk, who played Wash in "Firefly" and "Serenity") and Dale (Tyler Labine, whose work I don't know but will look into) are two not-completely-bright but sweet Virginia hillbillies looking forward to a vacation in their "fixer upper" cabin in the woods, and there kicking back and doing nothing more stimulating than fishing and drinking beer. To their dismay, a group of spoiled, Preppie college students decide to camp next door to their cabin. The students get it into their heads that Tucker & Dale are deranged, chainsaw-wielding serial killers, and react accordingly. The movie actually has a lot to say about stereotypes, and how people project onto others those stereotypes, and their own inner "dark sides." It's also at times hilariously funny, including an homage to the "Groovy" scene from "Evil Dead 2" (the corresponding great one-liner from this film is "Bring it, frat bitch"). There is definitely blood and gore involved, but...uh...funny blood and gore, if you're into that sorta thing. This is really a surprisingly good movie. I am already salivating at the thought of a sequel. 149 out of 164 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 A Hidden Treasure I saw the trailer to this film online and it seemed like a funny - yet unsustainable premise. I went to see it with friends anyway and I can't remember laughing so hard at a film in years. This movie takes a promising premise and knocks it out of the park. The cast is superb in this send-up of the psycho in the woods genre and the writing and direction take what I feared was an unsustainable premise and they give it surprising energy and humor. This is not Scary Movie crap. This is inventive and fresh and it has a beautiful heart. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk are the "Hillbillies" in this hilarious tale of prejudice and paranoia and they deliver performances that are grounded and authentic. Tucker and Dale never become plodding stereotypes of ignorant rednecks. They are portrayed with great wit and dignity and the actors never overreach or retreat into the safety and insecurity of broad camp. The cast trusts the writing and the director and it pays off. The script by Morgan Jurgenson and director Eli Craig is tight, smart and has a wonderful heart. These qualities are given life by an above average cast that includes the lovely Katrina Bowden from NBC's 30 Rock. An especially guilty pleasure is the character of Chad, brilliantly played by Jesse Moss who channels some alternate universe version of a sociopathic Tom Cruise as the lead frat-boy. Eli Craig really guided home a winner with this film. The movie sets a course at the beginning and you know where you're headed in the first five minutes-- but Craig's the captain of the ship and this journey is filled with surprises and wonderfully subtle moments that give the film a fun trajectory and a brisk pace. You breezily travel through a fantastic, hilarious and utterly sublime entertainment. Bravo! 256 out of 274 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 Not Only Very Funny, But Surprisingly Sweet Imagine a horror movie where all of the young kids who serve as the film's victims die gruesome deaths but where you don't have to feel guilty about enjoying the killings because the kids are the aggressors and are either too stupid or too evil to live anyway. That's what you have with "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil," a very funny horror comedy that upends the psychotic-hillbilly motif that's played so straight in so many other movies by having the hillbillies be sweet, lovable guys who don't understand why a bunch of preppy college kids are attacking them. Not only is the movie funny, but it's surprisingly sweet and smart, with two terrific performances at its center and some clever writing throughout that prevents what could have been a one-note joke from imploding. And I'm going to start including "frat bitch" as part of my standard vocabulary. Grade: A 9 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink Our eyes from the hills What if you showed a backwoods-horror movie where city slickers take a wrong turn from the hillbillies point of view? What if they turned out to be basically decent folks who just wanted to go fishing at their vacation home? And, finally, what if it was the hillbillies who had to fend off against a murderous psychopath and got to take the pretty girl home? But of course make it so that our surrogate watchers, a bunch of college kids out in the woods, should presume to know that hillbillies are a bunch of violent inbreds because they're familiar with the same movie lore we are, say Deliverance onwards. Make it so that a man with a chainsaw whizzing above his head recasts the most epochal scene from Texas Chainsaw as accident. Our enjoyment is that we're always placed a little closer, watching for a little longer, to know that there is no horror movie outside what is being imagined. So there you have it; a Two-Thousand Maniacs with misunderstood maniacs. It's a clever idea, and new as far as I know in this field. Now if horror is generally looked down upon, even in cases of solid craftsmanship, I wager it's for how it posits a battle with evil in absolute terms. We know that life is more a complex struggle than Hammer served us. Every horror film that matters has innovated by placing us one step closer to where real horror is assembled. Vampyr posited that it happened because we wanted to. Psycho moved the monster from the swamps to next door, and that was important enough at the time. Night of the Living Dead posited an entire world of insensate havoc but with no malice in the instinctive drive. The Tenant and later Videdrome transferred every visible distortion back in the retina of the mind's eye. In Possession, horror was the visual representation turned inside out from tortured soul. This is just as good in this way. There is no evil outside a series of unfortunate events, we come to understand. There is only circumstance and our built-in notions of what any set of circumstances ought to mean. With film having saturated so deeply the world we know, in a lot of these cases what we claim to know we know from movies. Our loss is that the idea must have seemed so striking and novel to whoever was approached to fund, that the project was rushed ahead before there was a chance to iron it out. So the first joke, a great joke, is played over and over again and wears itself thin. The finale resolves with just sparks flying from a chainsaw fight. The extra layer that was probably tucked in at the last moment, is that the massacre backstory that we understood was just a campfire tale improvised on the spot, and was generic like a Wrong Turn sequel, is supposed to be culled from real life. So there was truth behind the legend, mangled many times over in the telling, that powers the chain of events to replicate it. It makes sense then that one part of the movie, where evil is imagined, always plays out like a movie. Every time he appears on screen, he swirls everything into the narrative he was taught to have sprung from. It's pretty nifty. 23 out of 26 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 You'll smile and laugh. If you're a seasoned viewer of backwoods horror and, even after all that you have seen, can still buy into the idea that not all hillbillies are out to rape you in the ass, gut you like a pig or wear your face like a mask, then Tucker & Dale vs Evil will prove to be one hell of a funny film, an ingenious, very witty and delightfully gory take on all of those movies in which good looking teens wind up suspended from a meat-hook in a dilapidated shack littered with human remains and chicken feathers. Despite looking like inbred psychos, pals Tucker and Dale (Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) are actually a pair of well-meaning, beer-swilling good ol' boys who have at last realised their dream of owning a vacation home in the woods where they can rest their weary bones after a hard day's fishing; to the group of college kids camping nearby, however, they embody everything they have ever learnt about rednecks from countless slasher films—uncouth, uneducated, drooling inbred half-wits in dungarees who more than likely feast on the flesh of city-folk. When the teens decide to go skinny dipping one night (clearly having not paid THAT much attention when watching horror films), their worst fears appear to be justified when they witness one of their number—sexy blonde Allison (Katrina Bowden)—seemingly being abducted by Tucker and Dale in their rowboat. In reality, the pair have just rescued the girl from drowning, and are taking her to their cabin to recuperate, but convinced that they mean to do harm to their friend, the campers decide to fight back with disastrous and bloody results. With such an inspired yet simple set-up, Tucker and Dale could so easily have become a stale one-joke movie, but thanks to likable performances from Tudyk, Labine and Bowden and a consistently amusing and sometimes downright hilarious script that gives affectionate nods towards old genre favourites, takes a neat turn towards the end by introducing a real psycho, and even includes messages about prejudice and self belief, Tucker and Dale is a hugely satisfying, strangely heartwarming horror parody and a refreshing change from all those bloody remakes and sequels. 12 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink "Did You See The Way Those Guys Looked At Us?!"... TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL takes on the typical "killer hillbillies" movie by turning the entire sub-genre inside out. Through accident, misunderstanding, and assumption, a comedy of errors becomes a bloodbath! Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) look like a pair of rustic maniacs, at least to the group of college kids who have crossed their path. Multiple deaths occur, sending everything into chaos. Will anyone live long enough to figure out what's really going on? Hilarious, and at times, poignant, this could be a movie for the whole family, if it weren't for the outrageous gore... 7 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 Redneck Rampage. Warning: Spoilers Two sympathetic yokels Tucker and Dale bought the vacation home of their dreams:a run-down lake front cabin in the middle of the woods.Dale is very shy when it comes to talking with women.A group of college kids are going camping in West Virginia.Dale rescues Allison after her fall into the water.The college students see Dale and Tucker dragging Allison's unresponsive body into their boat and they assume that Allison has been abducted.Soon they attack the cabin with Dale,Tucker and Allison inside(or outside)and bloodbath ensues...Vastly entertaining horror comedy with fantastic main characters,plenty of humor and a good deal of cheesy gore.The film is very original as it turns the traditional view of horror-movie heroes and villains upside down.Rednecks are good,students are bad and the blood begins to flow.8 hillbillies out of 10. 12 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Bloody and Bloody Hilarious! This is seriously one of the funniest comedies ever. I've shown this movie to many friends and everyone's always laughing like hell with tears running from their eyes. This should've been marketed more though, I don't see why this wouldn't have been a huge financial success if more people had known about it. Oh and if (or when!) you decide to watch it, do not watch the trailer under any circumstances! It spoils the movie way too much. Now about the characters. Tucker and Dale are just so damn likable as these two clueless hillbillies. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine act their roles so well and without these two the movie would be a whole less engaging a watch. The script and the writing in this movie is fantastic but Tudyk and Labine take the movie to a whole another level with their fantastic chemistry and impeccable comedic timing. Katrina Bowden is also great playing the more understanding college girl who's trying to defuse the situation. She was also great in Sex Drive (2008), one of my other favorite comedy movies. The other actors are also good and suit their roles well. In its core the movie is based around such a simple idea you have to wonder why this hadn't been done before. The writers clearly love horror movies so it's not so much a parody but a lovingly crafted tribute making fun of the genre's tropes. The movie works its way through the horror movie tropes so well while incorporating them to the larger story. The deaths in this movie are inventive and absolutely hilarious. I don't know if I've ever laughed that hard, I had tears running from my eyes for most of the movie. Amidst all the fun and death there are also some good albeit obvious points about first impressions and stereotypes. Despite all the gore and dying, it's still a surprisingly warmhearted movie. Besides Death at a Funeral (the 2007 British version of course) this is probably the funniest movie I've ever seen and it's a must see for comedy fans. You won't be disappointed. 22 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 8/10 dumb and dumber go fishing I admit, I was afraid to watch this horror/comedy. I'm a horror buff and I can dig comedy too but mostly the combination of both doesn't really work. I had some laughs with the Scary Movie franchise but others like Vampire Suck and Transylmania weren't that laughable. But they came out of the states and their humor isn't my thing. I dig more the British humor like Lesbian Vampire Killers. The director Eli Craig isn't really known for comedies and is more an actor than a director but even then as an actor he isn't really famous in the comedy genre. But what he did here is unbelievable. He even wrote this funny flick himself and directed it. As main leads we have Tyler Labine (Dale) and Alan Tudyk (Tucker) also not known to be funny but they surely know their stuff, Tyler moved on to The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Alan came from I Robot. And what an excellent job they both did here as two hillbillies running into trouble just for being hillbillies. I surely would recommend it to the horror fans even as it is a comedy. It do has some gory moments and a lot of red stuff but it's always funny to see how it happened or what is going on. And the jokes are excellent. It's not just funny faces or a fart here or there this is sublime writing and acting falling together. I laughed from almost the beginning until the end. Maybe the last 3 minutes are a bit predictable but what a good time I had watching it. I should even dare to say that maybe this was the funniest horror I have seen so far. If you want to have a good time with stupid situations, dull blonds, red stuff, gore, silly cops and all of those typical characters than sit back and enjoy. Gore 3/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Story 5/5 Effects 4/5 Comedy 5/5 5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 9/10 Very clever--and I am amazed they could sustain the film's momentum throughout. Warning: Spoilers I am amazed that folks from the studio that made this had no idea how to market it and actually shelved it for several years. It SHOULD have done extremely well in the theaters, as it's an exceptionally made and very quirky little film. It's a parody of slasher films and manages to enchant the viewer throughout. The film begins with a group of annoying college kids heading off for the clichéd camping trip in the woods. Soon they see some local hillbillies who the kids have convinced themselves might just be killers such as you'd see in a slasher film or "Deliverance". However, two of these locals, Tucker and Dale, are very sweet and peaceful guys despite their appearance. But, every time they appear, the idiots think the pair are killers and they overreact. It's all rather funny--but the fun is yet to come. Later, when the pair are out fishing at night, the young idiots who are camping nearby go swimming. When one of them sees the two, she assumes they have come to kill her and she falls into the water--hitting her head on the way down to the water. She'll drown but Dale jumps into the water and saves her. But, her friends THINK the pair have killed Allison and they run in terror. Not knowing what to do, they take her back to their cabin and Dale makes her pancakes. No big deal, right? WRONG!! The idiot young folks assume Allison is dead and they decide to attack--and a long and crazy chain of events takes place that only serves to convince them more and more that Dale and Tucker were serial killers! There's more....but I don't want to spoil the sick fun. The plot idea for this film would make a great 20-30 minute movie. I wondered how they could sustain it for 90 minutes--but they did. How? Well, the key is that they made Dale and Tucker (particularly Dale) so gosh-darn likable as well as complex. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that this film will become a cult favorite, as it has a lot going for it. Great acting, writing and direction--I sure can't wait to see more from these folks. What a fine movie. While it might not surprise you, this IS a very, very bloody film. My wife and I laughed at the blood and gore and you probably will, too. But I would NOT let kids see this one, that's for sure. Also, during the scene with the crazy guy firing the revolver, note how the gun fires 10-12 bullets without reloading. I don't' think this is a mistake--more just an inside joke, as such a gun would run out of bullets long before this. 13 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Comedy/Horror Rises Again! I just saw this tonight at SIFF in Seattle. Delightful! Hilarious, twisted, well-written and funny. Didn't hurt that the filmmakers picked two of the funniest guys in the biz to play Tucker and Dale. But this isn't just a farce. You end up really caring about the main characters. And the scary character, when that person is revealed, is pretty dang scary. Funniest thing I've seen since Zombieland, and I laughed so hard through Zombieland I thought I was gonna barf. Do not miss this movie! 144 out of 175 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Too Good to Not be Marketed Correctly An excellent comedy with terrific horror elements, this was a crowd- pleaser tonight at DIFF, here in Dallas. This is what writing is all about, old-school, when writing actually mattered, over special effects. And there are plenty of those. It is rare that I actually praise an American film, only because we no longer care about writing. It's all about star power without chemistry or talent behind the scenes, just what might make a buck. And, clearly, even clear results do not stop "the machine" from producing utter crud. Relativity Media has bought this gem, but apparently has refused to market it ala Bounty Hunter. This is such a funny film that fits into Bromance, Comedy, Horror, maybe even Indie. Did I mention there's chemistry? Talent? Yup. All there. So, get on it, Relativity! This could be incredibly profitable. Wish my blog had more power to get the word out there. Hope this does the trick. 346 out of 396 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink Never judge others by their looks in this fun take on redneck horror This is one of those rare examples of a funny horror film that actually is funny. Never got a release here in UK which it should have had and so after really good reviews in the DVD mags here, i rented it.What really made it entertaining for me , a lover of films where teens going to meet their end by nasty guys who live in the woods , is that this film turns the whole idea on it's head by having the backwoods guys being caring and really good, and the teens getting the wrong end of the stick by causing all the deaths due to accidents. The two lead performers bounce off each other beautifully with a cracking good script which for a comic send up is so important.The film looks ace and special effects are above standard. This will become a cult film and for all my 60 years of loving slice and dice movies, i can really say this is really worth your time,watch with some beers and enjoy. 10 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Crowd pleaser at the Fantasy Filmfest in Berlin I've just seen this movie at the Fantasy Filmfest in Berlin and was totally surprised of the high quality. I thought this would be "just another" horror comedy you would forget instantly after leaving the cinema, but with the fantastic acting of Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine, the funny story and great effects, it works as well with the backwood slasher genre as "Shaun of the Dead" did with zombies. The crowd in the cinema went totally crazy about this film, they applauded and cheered throughout the film and after the first positive reviews by bloggers the screenings in Munich for example were sold out in just three hours after starting the pre-selling. Totally recommendable, and I really hopes this movie makes it to the cinemas worldwide. 133 out of 146 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 9/10 A must see. Instant cult classic. I did not have many expectations when I sat through this gem of a movie. This movie takes the horror/comedy genre to new levels. The plot is fairly simple, Lots of misunderstood situations that take place between Dale and Tucker and their fix-ur-upper vacation home, and some overly critical, unstable college kids. Very original script, good acting (Tucker and Dale are fantastic), and clever direction. How can a brilliant movie like this not make it to the big screen, yet movies like Season of the witch, Skyline, and Gulliver's Travels do. If you want to laugh till milk shoots out your nose, watch this movie. Should be on everyone's must-see list. 199 out of 216 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 10/10 Very funny, gory, with heart Really entertaining twist on 'teens in the woods' horror flicks. Lots of laughs and buckets of blood. The actors playing Tucker and Dale are very compelling and believable. Their charm really makes the film and you care about their story. The movie is basically a farce or a comedy of errors with each error resulting in a gruesome death. While the manner of the deaths is so over the top as to be funny, the biggest laughs come from the dialog. "Tucker and Dale vs Evil" excels at both physical comedy (the chainsaw scene for example) and verbal (explaining the situation to the police). Great movie. This film had a tremendous audience reaction at the Seattle International Film Festival. There's a laugh every minute. 166 out of 183 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink Teenaged Evil In The Woods There have been many horror/slasher spoofs made within the last ten years and some of them have been very good, while a few are, in my opinion, classics (such as 'Planet Terror' and 'Shaun of the Dead'). That doesn't stop 'Tucker & Dale vs Evil' from being fresh, funny, inventive and clever. 'Tucker & Dale vs Evil' even goes a step further as to making the film look like a 'bad rough cut' where even the special effects haven't been applied, the storyboard drawings and production notes appear on screen. Eli Craig's creative thinking is impressive. I like how in the story the roles are switched (as in, the teenagers are the ones playing the evil guys) while the innocent truckers are being attacked. The film definitely pays homage to cult hits like 'Friday the 13th' and 'Cabin Fever' (just to name a few). As a movie, it's actually quite superior to the aforementioned two examples. I also liked the execution especially how the film is deliberately made to look like a B movie. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine form a hilarious buddy pair on screen. Both actors have a great flair for comedy. Katrina Bowden is competent as the sexy blonde heroine. The rest of the cast perform adequately. 'Tucker & Dale vs Evil' is an excellent choice to consider watching with a group of friends or a date night. 11 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink 9/10 A Cult Classic Waiting to Happen So I was lucky enough to get to see this as my first movie at my first festival ever, the Dallas International Film Festival(DIFF) Honestly, this movie was a genius comedy, parodying classic horror to levels that could be considered even better then the likes of Shaun of the Dead. Truly it is a perfect Indie movie, and the fact that it is only on the festival circuit is a shame. It has the celebrity power of Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine leading the film in a comic tour de force as well as quite a few lesser known young actors acting opposite. Also, the direction of the new, but highly committed director Eli Craig shines as he directs the film he co-wrote and has been trying to get made for 4 years, and that love of the material shines. The humor and jokes just play beautifully with how the characters are made and the deaths always pay off. I was lucky enough to get a Q & A with Craig as well as meet with him afterwords and gain further insight into this movie that I already very much loved. He stated how some of he always saw this film as a comedy, not a horror film or even a parody of horror films, and as such one thing the big studios that wouldn't produce it had a problem with was the humor in the deaths. The fact however is that the way they are produced in the scenes and how the actors react just make each scene perfect. In truth, this film fully deserves a nationwide release. It will likely still gain this Cult Classic level with that as it fits into the mold perfectly just as the likes of Shaun of the Dead did. It would be a shame for this film to end up like Boondock Saints and having to rely on DVD to get around and known as it is just what the movie industry needs. Is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil funny?The critical consensus states: "Like the best horror/comedies, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil mines its central crazy joke for some incredible scares, laughs, and—believe it or not—heart". The film also has a score of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil a good movie?TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL is equal parts comedy and horror movie in a perfect balance of the two genres from director Eli Craig (who hasn't really got much else under his belt, directing-wise). This movie is guaranteed to achieve cult status once word gets around about how awesome this movie is. Is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil OK for kids?TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL is a pretty hilarious spoof. It's far funnier than other spoofs of its kind, like the big budget SCARY MOVIE franchise. However, it does contain the sort of strong foul language and extremely bloody violence of the movies it's spoofing. Is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil Campy?With the insanely fun campy shenanigans of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, it's easy to reduce it to another great horror comedy. |
