If you love backwoods horror like Texas Chainsaw, Wrong Turn, Monster Man, 2000 Maniacs, then you will fully appreciate Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a horror comedy satire that is absolutely in no way a horror film. But it is LOADED with gore and some of the best mockery of the genre and just how unoriginal it has become.
See, a group of teens heading into the woods to party runs into two hillbillies (Tucker and Dale) and quickly convince themselves that they are being stalked and gruesomely picked off by the rednecks—when they are actually each killing themselves through a series of accidents!
Tucker is recognizable as Jeremy Sisto’s best friend in the sitcom Suburgatory, while Dale is best known for his roles in numerous failed television shows like Invasion, Reaper, and Mad Love. Together, they’re a simple-minded unshowered pair who are just misunderstood by snobby, educated, elitist suburban kids.
This film has it all—obnoxious teens, skinny dipping (but no nudity!), a rundown house in the woods, ominous newspaper clippings, creepy hicks at a gas station, campfire stories, chainsaws, axes, band saws, a naïve local sheriff, and one of the best flashbacks ever to what happened 20 years ago—a group of kids partying in the woods get slaughtered to the beats of “Pump Up the Jam.” That’s right kiddies. It’s been 20 years, and what was once a cutting edge track is now nothing more than an oldie but goodie that can be used in the prologue of a modern horror film. Feeling old???
That’s the only thing I want to give away about this film. It would simply be ruining it to dwell on any particulars, but if backwoods horror is your thing and you can laugh at what a loser you are for watching tons of it, then you will love this film. The other important thing to note about the film is that it is loaded with kids who have been in tons of hot horror messes, from TV shows like Supernatural and Fringe, to SyFy crap like Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon, and even major motion picture classics like Final Destination 3…..
