By Geno McGahee
There is a legend called “The Black Hodag,” a monster that is terrorizing the northern woods of Oneida County, resulting in a large amount of missing campers, hunters and rednecks. When a group gathers in some high school reunion, things are going to get messy.
The problem with this movie is that it tries too hard to be funny. There are horrible one liners, stupid jokes, and completely unnatural reactions, put in there for humor purposes. It wouldn’t have been so bad had this movie been complete shit, but this movie had a world of good things going on, but it is its own worst enemy. The minute you really get into it is when they decide to throw in a guy in a bra jerking off to a picture of drag queen. It’s just too over the top silly to keep the mood.
The “Black Hodag” is very cool looking and at times, the shots in this film are incredibly cool. There are times where this movie really stands out as an interesting slasher with a unique killer, but because it refuses to take itself seriously, neither does the viewer. Had they focused on making a true horror film, this could have gone somewhere, but in the end, it’s a failure.
There is a ridiculous twist at the end that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and there is plenty of filler. The last 10 minutes is rather good, but it’s hard to forgive what came before it. All the elements were here for a good horror film, but they blew it and they did it intentionally.
BACKWOODS BLOODBATH is a big disappointment. I reluctantly recommend it, but it could have been so much more had they talked about the script and direction of the production before filming it.
Rating: 4.5/10
