Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Rated R
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil combines Deliverance-style hillbilly trouble with a classic tale of mistaken identity. It’s a group of fashionable spring break kids—“a car full of morons”—pitted against two seemingly creepy, dirty hillbillies. I’d be skeptical too if someone approached me at the Last Chance Gas station, holding a reaper in hand. The taxidermied animal décor and Dale’s blank stares and creepy, uncomfortable laughs don’t help matters much either.
Tucker (Alan Tudyk, Firefly) and Dale (Tyler Labine, Reaper) are just two beer guzzlin’, dirt wallowin’ idiots that have finally gotten their dream vacation home—a dusty cabin in the woods—once occupied by an archaeologist news junkie. Or, so it seems. They’re warned by a police officer that there’s “nothing up there but pain and suffering on a scale you can’t imagine,” but they’re pretty oblivious to that idea. They know nothing about the Memorial Day Massacre that happened 20 years ago in those same woods, resulting in a whole slew of dead college kids. They’re naive and innocent and they’re misjudged based on both that and their appearance.
Tucker and Dale does a few things really well, including its avoidance of the cliche. It’s refreshing and fun to watch. Some of the shots are fantastic looking horror film images from director of photography David Geddes (The Messengers). Additionally, the makeup is meticulously mastered, aiding in that whole suspension of disbelief. At times, you’ll forget that you’re watching a comedy film wrapped in a horror film and just see the horror. Tucker and Dale doesn’t really play up the cheese factor, instead opting for a blend of horror film authenticity with some astute comedy film writing. And you will be laughing while you watch it. It’s a great film to watch with a group of friends. I watched it alone and still laughed like an idiot.
The real scare of the film comes in with Chad (Jesse Moss, The Uninvited), a popped-collar frat. boy with some real odd tendencies. It’s not just his telling of the Memorial Day Massacre, but more his uneven mood and his view of the chain of events as a challenge. His dark side seeps out amidst the mix-up of murders/suicides (depending on which way you see it) and he can’t stand that his friends “freak out” from “a few tiny murders.”
Dale provides the heart of the film. He’s a big bear at heart who is “dumb as a stump” but he’s a good samaritan who has a specialized skill set and a knack for protecting his buddy Tucker. He seeks a bond with the college group hottie, Allison (Katrina Bowden, 30 Rock), after he saves her life and begins to take care of her. But he’s a self-proclaimed “zero with the ladies.” A little confidence can of course work wonders for anyone though and Dale grows with the help of reassuring words from his buddy Tucker.
I hesitate to say too much more. Watch the trailer and you’ll get a good sense of how the events of the film are all a part of a big misunderstanding. It really does have everything one could ask for in a horror-comedy, and then some. It’s one of my favorite movie-going experiences this year.
3 out of 4 stars
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is the late-night film at the Art Theater and plays Thursday night at 10:00 p.m.
Note: This is the restricted redband trailer that follows: