Backwoods Bloodbath

Six twenty somethings take a short break in the northern Wisconsin woods but as usually happens there is an evil killer that picks them and other characters off in gory fashion. On the way to their cabin they stop off at a local grocery store, the shop keeper says "You kids aren't from around here, are ya?" When a local says something like that you just know that spells trouble. Our friends pop out to a small bar on their first night, one of the not so friendly local hicks says "Douchebags from the Big City", to which one of the kids replies "I'm sorry, did you just refer to Milwaukee as the Big City?" The killer in the woods is a ridiculous creature called the Black Hodag, in reality it is some big guy with long dreadlocks and one of the worst masks I have ever seen. The movie is obviously low budget and it shows. We get hopeless actors spurting out lines that are so bad that it is often very funny. To its credit the movie has a decent kill count and plenty of gore, the effects and make up are generally reasonably good given its budget. We are treated to several scenes of t & a, the musical score is alright and there is an interesting twist towards the end. For me it is the awful acting and script that really lets this slasher down, the film is set in Skunk Creek which is quite apt as so much of this offering stinks.

Friends and I use this movie as a test to see if someone gets the vibe of the group, if you can't crack jokes and laugh at the absolute comedy masterpiece that this movie is you can't join the group.

In the grocery store scene the butcher calls the group FIBs and an annotation explaining what a fib is appears on screen, this never happens again. Brick goes on about how he can't stop them from banging and end his rant with "just don't drink my fcking syrup" probably 4 minutes later Becky and paul have soft core scene where they pour the syrup on themselves that is interrupted by 1 second shots of the hodag shuffling round. The hodag is a known problem in this town, people constantly go missing and everyone knows it's the hodag, yet in the bar scene the locals just make fun of Scott because his dad was the hodag hunter. Near the end of the movie a guy in a truck pulls up to a crashed truck and says "dammit Jacob's, boozin and cruzin again, I thought I told that boy" while stumbling out of his truck with a beer in hand, only to be met with the hodag make one of the funniest surprised drunk faces and gets killed, this is the first and only time we meet this character.

If you are lucky enough to find a copy of this movie purchase it immediately, I found mine in a collection of 25 horror movies for 2 dollars at the dollar store, it is truly my prized possession. It is the ultimate movie to bring to a so bad it's good night.

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)