Film Review: Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010)

Tucker & Dale vs Evil is quite possibly the funniest horror film to come along in the last decade...if Shaun of the Dead never existed.

The film is the feature debut from writer/director Eli Craig about a couple of backwoods best friends, named Tucker and Dale,  who love nothing more in life than to down a couple cases of PBR and go fishing. They purchase a "vacation home" and are on their way to fix it up when they cross the path of a group of college kids looking for some backwoods fun of their own. Tucker and Dale are soon confused for hillbilly serial killers and the real fun ensues.

This is the kind of film that really should have been given the wide release treatment. I'll never understand why a movie this awesome has distribution issues. Seriously.

I must admit...going into Tucker & Dale vs Evil, I didn't know what I was in store for. I mean...yeah, I knew it was going to be a comedy that mixed in elements of horror. But, I never expected the film to be so smart and so full of heart. While the film's soul is mostly pure awesome hilarity, it does possess some high concept ideas that flip the idea of the main antagonist completely on its head. The film is called Tucker & Dale vs Evil...so, it is essential that both Tucker and Dale are comprised of good natured country folk. The real evil is the notion of the seed of a malevolent act that transpires before the events of the film. And still...the film manages to coax some genuinely funny grue mashed together with its solemn themes.

Speaking of grue, Tucker & Dale vs Evil has plenty of it to go around. The F/X is pretty great and the death scenes are both completely gory and completely original. And they all go together nicely with the story of two hillbillies mistaken for evil. It's all shot pretty damn nicely, too.

Tyler Labine is one of my current favorites. He plays Dale in the film. He's also showed up in this past summer's Rise of the Planet of the Apes and he played Bert in the unfortunately short-lived TV series Reaper. Labine possess that natural ability to crack you up with just his presence alone. I loved him in the film and hope to see more of him in the genre.

Katrina Bowden is my current crush. She plays Allison in the film and she's pretty goddamn hot. She also has that nice innocence to her that ultimately creates a feeling of genuine warmth in her character which goes nicely with the warm-hearted aura that Dale exudes.

Alan Tudyk is Tucker and he is pretty hilarious in the role, too. I love the combination of the two actors as they play off each other seamlessly and add to one another's characters. Unfortunately, Tudyk doesn't talk like a pirate.

The film's main flaw is the lack of boobies on display. It would have seriously been a freakin' classic if there had been several nekkid boobies boobying around. But, alas...not much boobies.

In all...Tucker & Dale vs Evil is simply a film NOT TO BE MISSED. It's playing in select theaters as of this writing and is also available On Demand. While my favorite genre comedy of the past couple decades is still Shaun of the Dead....Tucker & Dale vs Evil is a close second as well as one of the best films released this year. It's a film full of perfectly executed horror homages as well as original ideas that all work together nicely in achieving its main purpose. To make you LOL. And if you don't like to LOL then you may need to re-evaluate your life.

4 out of 5



Thanks for reading!