Being one who was born and raised in South Jersey and near the Pine Barrens, I just had to see this movie. I read all the negative comments and ratings and braced myself for the worst. However, I was not all that disappointed.
OK, so I gave this movie a HUGE benefit of the doubt, being a huge fan of South Jersey folklore and of the Jersey Devil, and also a fan of horror movies. But I still did enjoy it for the most part. It was good and bad.
The Good: Cliff Robertson gave a great performance as Mr. Shroud, the mysterious Native American descendant. Christopher Atkins was also good as Ron, the park ranger and Gano Grills was good as Mitch, his partner. Robert Guillaume was excellent as Riley, the former cop.
Aside from the acting, the basic story was great. And what made it better was that it was really filmed in New Jersey, particularly in Batsto village/park. But they did a good job of making it into Shroudsberg Manor. Also, I personally laughed at the Piney Hunter. I thought he was the funniest person.
Although they changed the Jersey Devil legend, they did a good job in keeping with South Jersey history. They put the Lenni Lenape as the Natives there, which is true.
The Bad: Michelle Maryk was downright awful as Kathryn, the D.A. assistant sent to investigate. Leslie-Anne Down was good but...why such high billing? She was only in the movie for a minute or 2. Seems like the good actors were given the small roles. Michelle Maryk got WAY too much screen time, I see why they gave her such a low billing, I wouldn't advertise her myself.
The effects were not so great, and the camera-work was a bit shaky at times. The editing was awful, and the text on screen was badly put together. The time changes were confusing, but I actually sort of did get them. And they changed the legend, but I understand why.
Over all: Not a movie for everyone. Mainly one for South Jersey locals.
If you go to watch: Put it in your mind that this will be pretty bad and that the legend was changed, it will be easier to sit through then.
6/10.
