Never Hike Alone

Going into this knowing it was a fan made story and shortened I was sure what to expect but it delivered on a fun way of rediscovering the camp. There were plenty of throwback moments and details that made the wandering around the camp suspenseful and the movie does a great job building until Jason arrives.

The lead actor does a good job making you feel the emotion and keeping the tension up. Once Jason is there we get all the things we love about Friday the 13th movies. The interaction and battle between Jason and the lead were good and kept you in the moment.

The ending falls a little short for me and almost feels out of place compared to the explore and survive that the first 45 minutes did a wonderful job storytelling. There is a cool throwback in the final minutes that fans will love but unfortunately I think it actually takes away from how good the first 45 had been.

If your fan of Friday the 13th movies definitely check this one out and remember if you find yourself at Camp Blood "Run!"

With time to kill and trying to find something to watch on YouTube, I stumbled upon Never Hike Alone quite by accident, but being a "fan film," my expectations were very low. I was however very wrong.

Most fan films I've seen are obviously made with a lot of passion, but with varying degrees of quality. This was one of the best efforts I've seen.

I'm not sure of the films budget, but whatever it was, they certainly put it to good use. It was well shot and edited, the special effects were good and the fight scenes/kill scenes were very well done and the acting (so often the downfall of low budget or fan films) was surprisingly good.

The only minor criticism, I feel the film could have been tighter in terms of pacing, but that aside, its a very entertaining film and well worth a watch. I would go so far as to say that I've seen a lot worse films that have had a theatrical release! Goes to show, I should never pre-judge a "fan film."

I saw one bad review and figured that being an indie film maybe this was an honest review and all the other reviews were possibly friends of the filmmakers or cast mates trying to get some positive ratings on IMDB. I'm glad that I decided to take a chance and give this nice little gem a look for myself. I have no idea what that reviewer's problem was, but this was actually a very entertaining fan film. The build up to the confrontation between the main character and Jason was well done. And the fight scenes were actually quite entertaining. I would really like to see what these people are able to accomplish in the future if someone will give them a decent budget and a good script. Well done and keep up the good work.

(This film was featured at the Third Annual Sin City Horror Fest.)

Say the phrase "fan film", and usually it's enough to inspire cringing and lots of eye-rolling responses, especially when they're as awful as they can possibly get. But good news! NEVER HIKE ALONE isn't one of them!

A pleasant diversion from the recent legal SNAFUS entangling the FRIDAY franchise, director Di Santi's "love letter to Jason Voorhees" stars DREW LEIGHTY as social media sensation "Kyle McLeod", whose specialty is taking on the Great Outdoors, and photographing his adventures for his fans in real time. His latest hike takes him into uncharted territory, where he decides to cut his traveling time in half, through an area clearly marked with a "NO TRESSPASSING" sign. (There's Red Flag Numero UNO.) It gets really dicey, once he realizes that the actual place he's ventured into is...the spot where a certain camp was once located, and has been attached to some pretty gruesomely legendary stories...stories which he soon discovers were all too true.

With a minimal cast (including a franchise icon whom fans will love seeing), Di Santi manages to keep the suspense taut and gets maximum scares out of the scenario that don't feel cheap or unearned. He also does triple duty here, not just by writing and directing, but also by putting his own spin on Jason, in a way that other "Jason" actors (especially Kane Hodder) would gladly stamp with their 'Seal Of Approval'. And the ending implies a possible sequel...one I personally wouldn't mind seeing one little bit. New Line could do a lot worse than to give Vincente a shot at doing whatever the next installment in the franchise is...he's certainly proven himself with a film that excels beyond what normally passes for a "fan film".

This is super unique. I love the concept, and it would have been nice to see the official franchise move in this direction instead of always playing it safe and having a group of 6 or 7 caricatures to kill off. We have a single character, so it's easy to identify with him and genuinely get scared when he's in danger.

That's one of the main reasons this movie works, our feelings of empathy with the protagonist, feeling scared when he's scared, relieved when he's safe, anxious when the tension is building. This film might have been made on a shoestring budget but they put their all into it. Jason is massive, a truly horror invoking presence, and the chase and slash episodes really feel dangerous and painful and destructive; the way the camera moves with and against the actors, the way they move on screen.

This movie is, at the end of the day, just a fan tribute to the slasher series. There isn't much more than chase and hiding scenes after the setting is established. But really, isn't that the way all of the F13 films are? Isn't that one of the reasons we love them so much? It is clear (especially in the incredible end scenes) that the filmmakers made this movie out of a genuine love for the Friday franchise, and it shows in their work. Despite being made on a very low budget and with workers who are inexperienced, this was genuinely a really fun movie. And when taken as part of the F13 entity, it's not only fun, but good as well. When you love what you do, it shines through.

Oh yeah, also the mask looks effing great.