It all starts deep in the woods, where a gold locket is hanging from a metal pipe sticking out of the ground rather randomly. A group of youngsters who have rented a cabin nearby for a bit of gardening stumble upon the pipe and one of them nicks the necklace, just for fun really, and then just move on. Unbeknown to them, shortly after they have left a hulk of a man - Johnny (Ry Barrett) emerges from the ground who has used the metal pipe as his air supply, and he now goes on a prowl through the woods killing pretty much everybody in his way, often in a very gruesome fashion and raiding the ranger station, all in search of his necklace. Because you see, he's the weirdly mutated corpse of a boy who was killed in a prank gone wrong age ten, but for some reason he never really died and has since come back as a vengeful creature from time to time, and the necklace is the only thing that can keep him at bay - something above-mentioned youngsters are blissfully unaware of ...

Ok, above synopsis reads like the exact same story of probably by now a million other slashers, and this film never veers off the beaten path, down to details where the killer finds his mask, finds an object that reminds him of his childhood and renders him relatable for a few instances, or the obligatory campfire scrary story that serves as backstory. And then there's of course the killer's super strength and invulnerability. And all that said, this film is anything but your typical slasher movie, basically because it changes point of view from the victim's to the killer's side of things, takes to long walks with him through the woods (where he's largely shown from the back), has us accompany him when he sneaks round houses to find the perfect spot to capture and kill his victims, and the little characterisation the victims receive is all through the killer's point of view. So despite all the familiar genre tropes, this at times much more has the feel of an arthouse movie - but then again one with excessive violence, massive gore and super-inventive killings. And a word of warning out of fairness, you'll probably have to be deep into horror (like I am) to properly enjoy this - but then you'll feel it's a masterpiece.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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