Weekend Deadaway

Spotlight Feature Films, Lucky 13 Productions, and 3 Feathers Film present the Friday the 13th-inspired slasher/survival thriller Weekend Deadaway, starring Shoshanna Withers and Nickie Kruszynski. A PG-13 cut of writer/director Clinton J. Phillips' horror movie premiered on Friday the 13th of September 2024.

THE PLOT: "A couple of city hipsters feel like they are just working their lives away and have forgotten how to enjoy life. After some consideration, a tight group of friends decides to go to a rental cabin in the countryside for a weekend away. Little did they know that life as they knew it was forever to be changed. While on their weekend getaway, they can enjoy many property amenities, including off-roading, fishing, nature trails, star gazing, and simply enjoying the peacefulness of the countryside. Shortly after arrival, they realize things are pretty different than expected, which will forever change their lives."

Here are five reasons why you should watch Weekend Deadaway:

5) The Cast!

The ensemble cast does a great job of standing out with their different personalities. Viewers can distinguish them by their relatability. Addison (Shoshanna Withers) is easygoing and funny, while Lux (Emily Sue Bengtson) is all bubbly, and Ryder (Nickie Kruszynski) is more serious-minded. There is a fantastic scene - with all the female protagonists on a hiking trail - that allows the characters to just vibe and the cast to show off their chemistry.

4) The Camerawork!

The cinematography by Gabriel Jung makes excellent use of its forest setting while paying tribute to past horror flicks. When Addison (Withers) stands near the lake during the moody night, she turns her head, the static shot recreates a moment from Psycho. Kudos to Jung for lighting the night scenes in a way that audiences can actually see what's going on in the dark. Seriously, you don't get a lot of well-lit scenes these days, especially with indie darlings.

3) The Suspense!

I am not a fan of PG-13 horror movies, like The Fog remake and Tarot. Bunch of cheap knockoffs I tell ya! Thankfully, there's an exception here. Writer/director Clinton J. Phillips avoids shaky-cam and aims for suspense as the body count starts. Luckily, when the kill scenes cut to black, I don't feel ripped off but more interested in how the whole sequence came out. Dollars to doughnuts, I'm betting the upcoming R-rated cut highlights the gore effects.

2) The Standouts!

By the end of the movie, I was impressed with how Withers stood out as Addison, especially with her humor and natural charisma. I dug Kruszynski's engaging performance and hope to see her in another movie. Give them their flowers!

1) A Fun Flick!

Weekend Deadaway offers fun thrills and slasher suspense across the wilderness. I'm looking forward to the R-rated cut when it premieres Halloween 2024.

This is definitely worth the watch. Great Indie Horror film. I grew up with the 80's slasher movies and this brought me back to those days. Not overly filled with gore, but incorporated suspense as a thriller should to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I was immediately connected with the characters. I was impressed with such solid acting and a well written storyline that pulled me into the film from the beginning. Very impressed with the quality of this film and look forward to watching future films by this director.

Love having the PG-13 version of this slasher film to watch with my older teens as they love a good scare!

How in gods-name does this have a 7.8 rating? I love "B" horror movies, especially vacation/getaway ones, and this one is absolutely terrible. For starters the first 2/3s has literally zero horror elements at all. And I never expect Oscar quality acting in these films, but this one was very bad. It was incredibly hard to follow along as the story offered little value or anything even remotely interesting to keep you engaged. There were so many elements they brought into the movie that were completely unnecessary and like I said, weren't even slightly interesting. They could've cut out 70+mins of this 88min film and still done the same thing. I can honestly say this is one of the worst I've ever seen.

I'm sorry but this movie failed on almost every aspect of what makes a great slasher movie. The only positive is that the story line was okay, and it was in a wooded area (almost a must). The acting was okay with a few B list moments. But let's gets to the meat and potatoes.

It lasted about an hours and half, but the story line drug on forever, and you got maybe 10 minutes of really bad kills (CGI blood = awful for a slasher film). I mean really bad. The suspense was decent, but in the end the overall feeling on the movie was just disappointment, which was a major bummer because I really wanted it to be good.

It had potential, but in the end, the special effects were not good, and the story was slow, until the end when it was rushed. Signed - 80's child who was brought up watching slasher films.

What makes a good slasher movie is that you sometimes feel sorry for the victim or the villain is cool or something. This is lack of empathy cause the whole thing sounds and looks like a "we just had some money to spend and so this is the movie". This aint a B movie but a public service announcement about how not to make a movie. Only good thing about this movie is that they use quotes from some good horror movies. I know i sound like a "Karen" but seriously, this movie is like a bad joke. When you work hard and tend to play hard, do not go to a place when a random bad acting bartender offers you. The movie doesn't have plot holes. It is a complete hole.