A very strong 5 which is good I think. This had a lot of potential. Decent makeup effects even, to boot. A decent cast of average but decent actors who are all lucid and more than capable of understanding their script here with this kind of material. Only that's the real problem. Is the execution isn't very thought out. The most glaring thing about this film and watching it for me is the weaknesses in how it is written which never let's it be as great as it could've been with these actors and makeup artists who all suffered a bit under the weight of hammy writing. It relies far too heavily on familiar cliche annoying tropes like "Nobody has a cell phone" and "Let's go 50 miles out of civilization completely unprepared for ANYTHING." "We never think of calling the police really but let's scramble to the closest creepy park ranger" "A man is screaming outside our tents about 50 feet away and NOBODY hears it or even flinches" How far away did this guy go to take a piss? that nobody in the tents near by could hear him screaming hysterically basically right outside their tents for his life while a humanoid creature savagely rips him apart? Like I said, the plot here is not. thought. out. Again with the police thing, why do some characters in average low budget horror never think of ever wanting to notify the police during their awful little vacations that go horribly wrong but instead think they can handle things on their own nonchalantly. These plot devices work far better when they are well fleshed out and written with great care or context to persuade a horror fan who has seen their fair share of the genre. I hate to rag on this film but I think some contrivances take stronger writing to succeed with. With that off my chest. It's still enjoyable for a bit of low budget weirdness. The DNA by now of horror is not challenged here. It's Wrong Turn down by the Cabin Fever in the Evil Dead woods. But I will say this. It was pretty cool when Scout picks up the baseball bat - it is the best part that makes the movie. The creature makeup effects are quite good and the music is alright in those scenes. The ending fate of the characters was emotionally sad. Like the movie would imply, Watch at your own risk.<3
