This is a movie I really wanted to see because it’s always nice when someone does something interesting with the slasher genre. Whether that’s moving into a meta-commentary on horror itself like Scream or finding a new way to present the events, which is what this movie does. It also doesn’t hurt that I am now for sure going to put this on my list of cosplay options for conventions.

While the movie does involve a group of horny teens out in the woods, it doesn’t revolve around them. Instead, we follow Johnny, the “definitely not Jason Voorhees” killer of the movie. The other characters only really get screen time if Johnny is around. Through some background information we learn that Johnny used to be the some of the guy that ran the local company store for the loggers out in the woods. When they accidentally kill Johnny and then his father, Johnny comes back for revenge. None of this is seen, however, as we only get the modern day version of Johnny without any real flashbacks or changes until the very end of the movie.

We hear snippets of conversations and see some pictures and things that give more background information about what is happening but what we mostly get is Johnny walking around in the woods. With only diegetic sound used in the movie, we get what feels like a relaxing nature sounds ASMR video that is occasionally interrupted by some of the gnarliest violence imaginable. Both the beginning and end of the movie make that juxtaposition out to be the main point of the film. That while nature can often seem soothing, like when Johnny walks amongst the sounds of birdsong and the rustling of the breeze, nature can also be terrifying and violent, like the story of a ranger getting attacked by a bear we get at the end of the film.

I was amazed to see how many 1 star reviews there were of this movie, mostly by regular viewers and not critics. I get that some people might not be as willing to go along with the almost meditative way the movie moves through space but I never felt bored or uninterested in what was going on. Also, the kills in this are truly ridiculous and not just in that they are gory (which they most certainly are). They also get enhanced by the slow pacing and the lack of musical score. Watching the deliberate dismemberment of someone where the camera isn’t cutting away, the music isn’t blaring, and it’s just seeing over-the-top violence is both a commentary on nature but also the horror genre itself. The way we take pleasure in these acts normally in a movie but when stripped of all pageantry, it becomes something else entirely.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and the way the movie switches at the end is also another great commentary on the “final girl” trope and how movies tend to just end when the last person gets away without having you consider what surviving something like that might do to someone.

Score: 4.5 out of 5