The Windigo

This is one of the worst films I've seen in recent history. It was so bad, I got up and left. I almost made it to the end of the driveway before I realized I was watching it at home. Was I supposed to be scared, because if I was, I missed it. Oh sure, it had its prerequisite number of jump scares to qualify as a horror movie, but most were overused tropes and predictable. And, speaking of predictable, I predicted the movie's ending less than half way through, and the only reason I watched it to the end, was to see if I was right. I was. With regards to the acting, the male lead's acting was so bad, I actually burst out laughing several times. I wasted about an hour and a half of my life watching this movie.

"Windingo" captivates with a seamless blend of suspense and mystery, immersing in its atmospheric world. Marco Fuller's exceptional dual role and Troy James' mesmerizing portrayal of the Wendigo elevate this cinematic gem. Under Gabe Torres' skillful direction, it's a thrilling rollercoaster ride worth savoring, complemented by stunning cinematography. While character depth can go deeper, the film's brevity and exhilarating narrative make it a unique and captivating cinematic delight. A testament to creativity and commitment, "Windingo" challenges and entertains... Chillingly stylish horror; a visual gem of spine-tingling suspense.

Heading out into the countryside, a Native American teen and his family inadvertently stumble upon a secret meth lab operating in the area and soon become targeted by the gang forcing them to summon a wendigo to deal with them only for a special connection to potentially tear them apart.

Overall, this was a rather effective genre effort. One of the best aspects of this one comes from the engaging and far more worthwhile setup that has quite a lot to like here. Involving the family arriving at the house and going through the means of trying to deal with their grandmother while also getting used to the remote surroundings produces a solid culture clash alongside the rest of the work here between the family. Since they have their confrontations going on while also trying to deal with the purpose of their visit in keeping their grandmother in check, the casual manner in which they get involved with the meth dealers out in the middle of the woods provides a great starting point to unleash the demonic creature incorporating it as a way to bring his heritage out for the revenge of the gang that's tormenting him. This allows the film to feature some solid and overall enjoyable creature action with the creature's appearance generating a lot to like. As the idea of its connection to him is made clear early on, this one brings about a nice dramatic build-up with the need to try to prove his manliness conflicting with the idea of the creature going for the psychological torture while trying to inflict the coda of its rampage in the community as the being starts to take out the ones responsible while their connection adds a strange set of stages for the finale. Knowing that the two are forced together and lined together, this adds a solid enough aspect to the storyline which is a decent dual-pronged storyline involving the vicious confrontations involving the creature out on its bloodthirsty killing spree while the rest of the family is trying to find a way to break the connection before it kills him. Coupled with some fantastic creature effects when it shows up and some solid enough gore, there's a lot to like with this one. There isn't much to dislike here but it does have some minor drawbacks. One of the main issues here is the film's rather obvious and nearly unmistakable series of plot points that leave this one feeling immensely familiar and predictable. The whole concept of what's going on with him and the connection with the creature during its rampage becomes immensely obvious the second it's mentioned that the creature is tied to him and they're actions and powers are in sync so that the final half is a bit of a letdown when it gets introduced so that no matter how much suspense it tries to wring from the situation this one has a singular direction it must go in even with the inclusion of Native American folklore to spice it up slightly. The other rather goofy and unnecessary over-the-top means it's using to try to capture the idea of it controlling him which is somewhat silly when it shouldn't be the case and is what manages to hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

I was pleasantly surprised that each actor in this film was able to clearly hold their own through the duration of the film and not one performance ever slipped or fell short. Gabe Torres creates a visually stirring and engaging cautionary tale about the lure and danger of unchecked power. The script was a touch lackluster and the characters were a touch one dimensional. My only real is that if a character is a brown belt in BJJ, they better have the moves to back that claim. All in all, a great watch, one that I will recommend to others. Big props to the actor responsible for the Windigo performance, it was incredible.

I was pretty interested and excited about watching this. Let the lights down and it instantly starts off with a pretty cheesy opening scene that showed way too much of the creature. Throughout the film it felt as if Marco Fuller was more of a distraction to what the movie could have been.

It felt like I was watching an episode of the 90s goosebumps that just kept going. The pacing was not good, you feel as if you're waiting for it to get better, then it just never does. It had some decent practical effects, but then probably the worst cgi of the year in one scene.

The delivery is stale and uninspired.