Credited cast: | |||
Brando Eaton | ... | Tyler Patterson | |
Peter O'Brien | ... | Greg Thomas | |
Michael Shamus Wiles | ... | Hank | |
Laura Niemi | ... | Natalie Thomas | |
Eileen Dietz | ... | Jane Patterson | |
Patrick Burch | ... | Carl (as Patrick A. Burch) | |
Craig Rees | ... | Deputy Reed | |
Brad Schmidt | ... | Ryan Emerson | |
Caroline Tudor | ... | Sarah Thomas |
Meeting his girlfriend's family for the first time, Ryan must prove his intentions with their daughter, Sarah, and win the approval of her father, Greg. All the while masking his jealousy for Sarah's ex-fling, Tyler. As the Christmas celebrations and traditions begin, things start to happen around the cabin. As a blizzard descends on Lake Alice, so does evil. The family members are hunted down one by one and struggle to stay alive as their power in numbers slowly dwindles.
Perhaps because I am a big fan of the Horror Genra I was (literally) able to predict the Killer in this film 8 minutes into it. That may be hard to believe but if you have watched as many horror films as I have, it wasn't hard. There is a slight twist which I won't disclose and spoil it for anyone so I will simply give my perspective.
I think a "5" rating is justified for this film but may be a little generous. Acting, story line, plot and sound were sub par. Twist endings are always enjoyable but this one was a bit too much. If you have to take a simple formula used 100's of times in a Horror/Thriller and add one more factor to it to say "it's original", then anyone with $25,000 can produce an "original" film I suppose. This does not, an original film, make.
If you use your head a little and pay attention to the characters introduced in the first 10 minutes of the film any true Horror fan with half a brain will see who the Killer is, quite obviously. Pay close attention to facial expressions and subtract the obvious. That is how I guessed it right probably less then 8 minutes in.
To that end, I would not "Dead-Pan" the movie completely, but, don't spend a dime on an On-Demand order or theater viewing of this film. Wait a couple months to buy it in the $3 bin at your local Walmart or Grocery store. That I would recommend.