Greetings and salutations, and welcome to my review of 2017's Countrycide.
The story gets a 1 out of 2:
The Direction and Pace receive a 2 out of 4:
The Acting gets a 1.25 out of 2:
And my Enjoyment level hits a 1.5 out of 2:
Giving Countrycide a 5.75 out of 10:
The movie is your basic "Killer In The Woods" fayre and offers nothing new to the sub-genre. And for most viewers, this is where the film may falter most. Though I do commend the writer and director, Brett Kelly, for keeping it simple: A couple on their way, cross-country, to a wedding pull over in a secluded forested area to camp for the night before continuing their long journey. Unfortunately, they stumble across some hunters - or the hunters stumble across them. Even "The Hunters" are simplistic in their pursuits; they are hunters, and they hunt anything and everything. These huntsmen love nothing better than watching the life ebb out of the eyes of their prey. I loved how shocked they were when Abby presumes they are going to eat her and her boyfriend. It made me titter.
Humour is one of the main threads in my enjoyment of this little flick: this principally comes from Ranger Scott, who possesses one of the most cheerful voices and persona's I've seen on film. Being both simultaneously infectious and annoying. Nevertheless, it works well to carry the movie through the slower and darker parts.
The one thing I would have loved to have seen more of was personalities and characteristics. Even the joyous Ranger Scott manifests as little more than two-dimensional, and the hunters are close to being zero-dimensional.
Kelly's simplistic style carries across to his filming, which works... but could have been so much better. But here's another "Hats Off" moment: Kelly decides to tell the story primarily during the daytime. There are remarkably few night scenes, generally predominant in this sub-genre. Usually, these are so low light that you cannot see what is happening, which typically spoils the movie for me. Kelly goes one better and superbly lights the might scenes too. The scene where Abby talks to her boyfriend Mike's ghost is beautiful. However, the story needed more action and suspense for it to succeed. What is on offer isn't utilised so well. It would appear Kelly needs to grow into his director's boots a tad more in the thriller stakes.
It's the pacing of Countrycide that helps to keep the viewer watching. Kelly has opted for a steady canter. Granted, in this style of Dark Thriller, a variety of paces would have helped to build the missing atmospheres. But the steady pace serves to keep the story flowing well to the movie's finale.
The cast is a smidgen above average. And that is tremendous due to the characters needing more meat on their bones. The actors portraying the hunters needed to come across more ominously. These are the bad guys, and you need to be scared of them.
All that said, Countrycide entertained and sustained my attention, and I enjoyed it. It's not perfect; nothing is. I would easily recommend this movie to pass an hour. Though if there is something better available I'd advise watching that first. Countrycide isn't worth a rush to watch, and if you miss it, well, it wouldn't be a bad thing.
Once you've set up camp then check out my Chiller Thriller Killers, and The Game Is Afoot lists to see where Countrycide bivouacs in my charts.
Take Care & Stay Well - Get Inoculated & Boosted.
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