Dir. Eli Craig (2010)
Two hillbillies decide to spend the weekend at their newly purchased vacation cottage. A group of college kids decide to go camping. When one of the rednecks falls in love with one of the college kids, hilarity and mayhem ensues. Some things are not what they seem.
CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Alright, full disclosure: I fucking love Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. It's my all-time favorite horror comedy. It's brilliant, it's funny, and it's gory. It's truly the best of all things that I need to rev my horror engine. If you hated this movie and don't like disagreeing, you might want to stop reading now. A group of college kids go camping in the woods, and when one of their group is approached by a redneck with a scythe, they naturally freak out. For them, this is the prototypical backwoods slasher flick. We, however, quickly learn better, as the rednecks are lovable oafs who are just there to enjoy their new dream vacation home. Dale, the man with the scythe, is a stupid-but-brilliant country boy who most certainly doesn't have a way with the ladies, and his approach with the scythe is intended as a way to strike up a conversation with the pretty girls. The rest of the film is filled with this type of misunderstanding brought about by the college kids' belief in stereotypes and first impressions.
When the pair goes fishing, the college kids decide to go skinny-dipping. One of the girls (who just so happens to be the one Dale has fallen madly in love with) sees Tucker and Dale watching her from the boat and slips, bashing her head against a rock and almost drowning. Dale dives in to save her, and when they take her back to their cottage to take care of her, the teenagers believe they're kidnapping her. Their attempts to get her back result in bloodshed, as the teens accidentally kill themselves in various, bloody ways as Tucker and Dale begin to believe that the teens are involved in a suicide pact that is making them look worse and worse by the second. Truly a great film, and legitimately funny, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil was the first time I've laughed so hard at a horror movie since Student Bodies, and that was a loooong time ago. Being from Georgia, I can honestly say I've experienced some of the stereotypes that these good-old-boys go through in the film, and I totally get how something like this could happen. Dale continually tries to explain things to the kids, which falls on deaf ears as they're bound and determined to take back their friend by any means necessary.
Tyler Labine's Dale and Alan Tudyk's Tucker are absolutely fantastic, two of my favorite characters in any movie I've seen. They play off each other magnificently, and the jokes are almost constant. The supporting cast isn't half bad either, and my god Katrina Bowden is a hottie. Brilliantly scripted, the writing is some of the best I've ever seen in a horror flick. The direction is perfect for this type of movie, and the shifting between the two groups' storylines is flawless. We actually get a chance to see the events unfold from both perspectives, and we can't really blame either of them. It takes a lot to make us feel bad for people who are trying to murder innocent people, no matter how hillbilly they may be, but this film manages to pull it off.
A true epic of horror/comedy, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is an absolute must-watch. It's on Netflix I believe (or at least it was when I first watched it), and I'm so glad I took the time to watch it. I bought it the first time I saw it in the store, and I watched it again that night. It's recently been announced that they're making a sequel, and, honestly, I'd watch 15 of these movies. I can only hope that they turn themselves into a franchise, because they've got a waiting viewer right here.
Who this movie is for: Horror comedy fans, All horror lovers, Misunderstood rednecks
Bottom Line: Fun, fast-paced, hilarious, and bloody, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a sight for sore eyes. The gold-standard for horror/comedy, T&DvE is a diamond in the rough, and the acting and directing is magnificent. If you for some reason haven't seen this yet, go see it. Like, right now. Seriously, what are you still doing here?
