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bluemeanie
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Posted: May 31, 2005 at 12:00am
Hollywood seems to be reverting back to the good old days of creepy horror films. "Jeepers Creepers" has restarted the movement and did so with using the simple techniques that made horror films such a dominant force in the late seventies and early to late eighties. "Wendigo" is an attempt to capture some of the lost horror magic in Hollywood. It succeeds glowingly.
A young couple, Kim (Patricia Clarkson) and George (Jake Weber) take their young son Miles (Erik Per Sullivan) on a weekend vacation to the Catskills. On the way in, they hit a deer, thrusting them into a terrifying encounter with a maniacal hunter named Otis (John Speredakos). After the encounter with the deer and the hunter, the weekend turns into one nightmare after another for the family. The film goes along with taut suspense and pretty decent horror, culminating into an ending that some have found rushed and absurd, but which I found to be fitting considering the legend of the Wendigo itself. What other ending could you place on the film?
Director Larry Fessenden has a knack for horror films, evident with "Wendigo", and his direction is quite memorable and fitting. I have always wondered when they were going to make a horror film based on the Wendigo, and I am happy that this film is the end result of my waiting and anticipation. John Speredakos is chilling as the hunter, and Erik Per Sullivan from TV's "Malcolm in the Middle" is what I guess you would call the 'star power' behind this film, though it is Speredakos and Christopher Wynkoop as the Sheriff who steal the show.
There is one especially creepy scene where an old man gives Miles a small doll representative of the Wendigo. When he tells his parents and they ask the woman behind the counter, she says she is the only one who works there. Well made, well acted, and well written, this is a horror film that takes us back to the time before horror films became action films with monsters. This is truly a nice piece of film. 6/10.
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Chad
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Posted: September 15, 2007 at 12:58am
Save for the opening scene with the hunter and the accident, I have to say that the first hour of the film was pretty bad. It looked good and there was some great cinematography, but the actual storyline and the characters involved simply didn't do anything for me. However, that final half hour of the film made up for it, and the wendigo itself was pretty damned creepy. 5/10.
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bluemeanie
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Posted: September 17, 2007 at 10:50am
His stuff is all about atmosphere. I hear what you're saying about the first hour, but I don't think it was bad. I think he was trying to establish a definite mood for the film, and it worked for me. I like his work because he takes time to develop his characters in offbeat ways. And this cast is just exceptional. Patricia Clarkson in a film like this is just phenomenal. And, yes, the Wendigo itself is creepy as hell, and I wish we could have seen more of it.
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Tristan
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Posted: September 17, 2007 at 5:55pm
That Malcolm In the Middle kid is adorable.
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