Wuchak
@Wuchak
**_Cabin-in-the-woods creature feature in northeastern West Virginia_** This opens with an outstanding song and closes with another effective track for the end credits. It also has quality Appalachian locations, shot in autumn, not to mention a diabolical-looking monster, creepy sylvan atmosphere and well-done gore. Unfortunately, the tense dramatics between the no-name actors is sometimes unconvincing, which isn’t helped by the ambiguity of the deadly entity. This takes you out of the story and the viewing experience becomes tedious. As such, the scriptwriting is the weak point. Say what you want about 2001’s “Wendigo” but it featured smart writing with convincing performances. For instance, the story covertly reveals how the spiritual creature is released. Not so here. How was it released? Is it territorial? How can they escape it? If one argues that Sierra’s actions attracted it, then why did it attack the couple at the remote cabin first as opposed to the people in her company? If someone says it’s territorial, then there wouldn’t be a State Park cabin in that location since it would slay every vacationer. Furthermore, if it’s a spiritual entity, staying in the cabin wouldn’t offer any more protection than Curtis’ tent outside, not to mention fleeing the mountain to the nearest town wouldn’t hamper it. It could be argued that this movie has a superior-looking monster and gore compared to “Wendigo,” which is true, but so what if the characters are uninteresting and their dramatics unconvincing? Another issue is the female lead played by Julie Kashmanian. She’s okay, but not up to snuff to play the proverbial ‘final girl.’ The flick needed someone of the caliber of Suzanne Davis in “Fear Runs Silent,” Cerina Vincent in “Sasquatch Mountain” (aka “Devil on the Mountain”) or Joelle Westwood in “The Hunting.” The secondary actress, Alex Cody, is weak as well, although blonde Christine Oswald is good in a third-tier role. It runs 1h 33m and was shot in Nov-Dec 2022 at Cacapon Resort State Park in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, as well as Berkeley Springs to the north and nearby spots of Maryland (Garrett County and Frederick County). GRADE: C-
