RELEASED TO VIDEO IN 2007 and directed/written by Donn Kennedy, "Backwoods Bloodbath" (subtitled "The Curse of the Black Hodag") chronicles events when six college youths from Milwaukee take a Fall vacation to the Black Forest in Oneida County, Northern Wisconsin, but are unaware that the area's cursed by a half-human, half-creature called the Hodag.
This is an independent slasher flick in the mold of the Friday the 13th sequels, but hampered by a budget of somewhere around $10,000-$50,000 and the typical problems that come with micro-budget fare: bad acting, sometimes bad sound, hand-held cameras, dubious editing, etc. However, if you can handle these kinds of limitations and roll with it rather than against it, "Backwoods Bloodbath" delivers the goods in several respects. For one, the movie has a sense of humor and I busted out laughing several times (e.g. "You guys aren't FIBs?" and the following textual note).
Secondly, the movie delivers with a few quality females, starting with the barn brunette in the prologue and, about 25 minutes later, a tent-camping girl in red bikini-shorts, which is just a cameo. The main protagonist, Jessica, is pretty decent as well. Personally, I could do without the flashes of nudity though.
Thirdly, there's a lot of fairly convincing gore; and sometimes so much that it's laughable (not that I'm into gore, I'm just pointing out that it's done very well for a no-budget flick). Fourthly, the script throws in a surprise in the last act, which I won't give away. Fifthly, there are several quality cuts on the soundtrack by presumably local artists, like "Whiskey Morning" by 8 Hours of Violence (see the "Soundtracks" credits on IMDb for more info).
Sixth, the director/writer knows how to make a movie, as far as camera angles, editing, music, flow, etc. go. Sure, you can harp on this or that (which is easy to do with a no-budget flick), but the movie accomplishes its goal, it's entertaining and entertainment is the name of the game. For comparison, my wife & I saw a no-budget horror flick recently that cost less than $10,000 and it totally siphoned from beginning to end, lacking all the six positives noted above (!).
On the downside (beyond the typical issues with these kinds of independent productions), the movie's overlong by about ten minutes, with a useless epilogue/montage tacked on, there's too much juvenile crudity (although some of it's amusing) and the second half doesn't generate enough suspense. Nevertheless, if you don't mind independent flicks with miniscule non-budgets, "Backwoods Bloodbath" is worth checking out for the highlights noted above.
THE MOVIE RUNS 89 minutes and was shot in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, with additional stuff done in Brookfield and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
GRADE: C- (but C+/B- for overall entertainment value)
