OK, I thought the first half of the movie was quite good: atmospheric, building up tension, decent acting, and solid production values. Then comes the cannibal/mutant attack, and every sane thought goes out the window.
From the halfway mark, the characters impressively enough have the skill to make the wrong choice at every possible moment. I guess you could let it slip by if it happened once, but when it happens about fifteen times, then there's no way back on track: Someone killed the dog? Better not tell anyone. Creepy people sneaking around the trailer? Let's ditch it and go watch that fire over there. Your sister screaming in the trailer? Let's head out in the opposite direction. Finally got the upper hand on a crazy cannibal mutant that is kicking your ass? Better run off to the bathroom, so he can gather himself again. Got the drop on a mutant who's eating your mother? Run away, and shoot blindly while running. And so on, and so on ...
Also, the makeup on the mutants was definitely sub-par, and kind of takes you out of the movie when it's supposed to scare you. There's plenty of blood, but the constant sharp-object-in-the-head thing does tend to get tiresome after a while. In the end, the movie feels like some R-rated Lassie movie, because let's face it - the damn dog is the real hero of the movie.
From the halfway mark, the characters impressively enough have the skill to make the wrong choice at every possible moment. I guess you could let it slip by if it happened once, but when it happens about fifteen times, then there's no way back on track: Someone killed the dog? Better not tell anyone. Creepy people sneaking around the trailer? Let's ditch it and go watch that fire over there. Your sister screaming in the trailer? Let's head out in the opposite direction. Finally got the upper hand on a crazy cannibal mutant that is kicking your ass? Better run off to the bathroom, so he can gather himself again. Got the drop on a mutant who's eating your mother? Run away, and shoot blindly while running. And so on, and so on ...
Also, the makeup on the mutants was definitely sub-par, and kind of takes you out of the movie when it's supposed to scare you. There's plenty of blood, but the constant sharp-object-in-the-head thing does tend to get tiresome after a while. In the end, the movie feels like some R-rated Lassie movie, because let's face it - the damn dog is the real hero of the movie.
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