There aren't many slasher movies made in the twenty-first century that are devoid of the meta and satirical influences ushered in by the post-Scream slasher era. This feels like a throwback to 80s slashers both in the scaled down story and style. The zooms, pull back shots, long wide shots, and wide establishing shots feel very John Carpenter. The same for the scaled down story being set primarily in a trailer park. The disassembling of the nuclear family versus random killers in masks gives the story a real feel. The family starts disconnected, but not necessarily apart and the grow together more because of this experience. Save for a couple of bad character decisions, which were only made more noticeable because I cared for them, there was nothing that took me out of the movie. The great cinematography and music only bolster an all ready intense thrill ride.
The opening shows three masked killers killing a couple in a trailer park. There is something memorable and creepy about one of them laying in bed next to the husband while the wife has been killed. Next, the movie starts with a disconnected family getting ready to leave to go their Aunt and Uncles trailer park, I enjoyed the interactions between these characters. The daughter Kinsey, (Bailee Madison), is clearly estranged as her parents are sending her to boarding school after this vacation. There are some interesting interactions early on. The daughter seems frustrated and thinks they are only sending her to boarding school because they can't control her. Luke (Lewis Pullman) is the athlete in the family and him and his sister bicker. Once they get to the trailer park Luke and Kinsey take a walk leaving the parents time alone. The parents don't seem to have the same relationship either as they talk about having more time alone once she leaves. They complain about the kids using their phones too much. This seems like a slightly exaggerated version of a modern family. I actually think there are families this disconnected in real life, especially with teenaged kids and the parents may not always know what to do with them.
While walking through the trailer park Luke and Kinsey find an open trailer where they discover their dead Aunt and Uncle. They run back to the house and Mike, (Martin Donovan) and Luke go to investigate. At the same time in a real, "Have you checked the children," moment, a woman knocks on their trailer door twice and asks, "Is Tamara home?" After both the mother and Kinsey leave for a moment they go back and discover their phones smashed. While Cindy (Christina Hendricks) tries to call for help, Dollface appears behind them and they barricade themselves in the bathroom. There are two things I really like about this. One, I like how the characters are separated but know there are killers around early on in the movie, but they are so separate they cannot all help each other. It inverts the normal slasher trope of people not knowing what is going on until the end of the movie. Two, no cellphones cuts them off from communication but by breaking them it prevents the stupid trope of no service. It renders both sides equal in terms of technological advantage. What is scary about this section in the movie is how the characters aren't expecting anything to happen, wandering around freely and danger hits them in the face.
Spoiler Section
The scene between Kinsey and Cindy is truly heartbreaking. Kinsey sees her mother die a brutal death as she is stabbed and slashed. I do like how the intensity ramps up as Dollface continues to break down the door. What I didn't like about this scene and it was the start of some interesting character decisions in this movie, was Kinsey waiting way to long before she leaves. I was screaming leave so your mother doesn't have to worry about you so she can turn around and try to fight the killer. At the same time I know I was only thinking that way because I cared about the characters, and lets be real Christina Hendricks is the definition of a MILF if I ever saw one so I just automatically like having her in the movie more. The whole thing did seem very human though. Kinsey is a young girl terrified in that moment of losing her Mom and doesn't realize she is helpless.
Meanwhile Luke and Mike get the Aunt and Uncle's gun. They try to drive away but end up crashing. Once Luke leaves with the gun, the man in the mask comes in and puts on the radio while Mike is helpless and begging as he is pinned to the seat by a block of wood through his stomach. The killer stabs him in the neck and I enjoy how the blood doesn't spray, it shoots downward which is really cool. Another disturbing moment of a character helpless to save their loved one. At this point it goes with the normal slasher trope of the more capable ones being dead or gone so the younger ones are more vulnerable.
There is a scene in the middle where Kinsey is trapped in a tube at a playground. I do like how the camera switches perspectives from her left to her right at different angles. A lot of people do not seem to like the jump scare right here but I actually do because it's different. It's not as much about creating a loud sound to scare, more so than the use of Pin-up Girl's face mask coming out of the dark.
Eventually Luke and Kinsey reunite in a trailer and here is dumb character choice two: Luke not shooting Dollface right away. Yet just a little while later he's okay with stabbing Pin-up Girl later. You could argue again that these are human moments by characters who are younger and have different emotions but still you have to fight the killers with the same morals they do if you want to win. Kinsey hides under a porch while Luke goes to get help. This leads to the best sequence in the movie as Luke is attacked by Pin-up Girl in the pool area and stabs her. This set design features some great neon colors. Luke is then attacked by the man in the mask and they fight over the knife in the water leading to Luke being stabbed. I love the look of the blood in the water. All this happens while "Total Eclipse of the Heart," plays in the background.
Kinsey eventually finds Luke and a deputy shows up after Luke had managed to call 911. Dollface shows up and cuts the deputy's throat which is an awesome bloody kill. Kinsey gets to the Deputy's shotgun and kills Dollface. The man in the mask shows up for one final chase scene. Kinsey uses her lighter to blow up the truck. The man in the mask survives the explosion. Another family shows up to the trailer park and Kinsey gets in the truck while the man in the mask follows. A cool tribute to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Luke is alive in the hospital with Kinsey as she hears a knock a the door.
I really liked this movie save for those dumb character decisions. The kills were bloody and they looked real. I liked the scaled down setting. I enjoyed the neon colors and the camerawork. Great use of the soundtrack as well.
Rating: 8/10 If those character decisions were different I think I would've liked this more but you also would've had a shorter movie. The point of the movie seems to be that the family has more to lose and different morals from the Strangers which separates them and causes more harm to the family.
Trivia: Both "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and "Making Love out of Nothing At All," were songs written and produced by Jim Steinman. They were both number one and two on the Billboard top 100 chart at a point in 1983. The second song plays during the chase scene between Kinsey and the Man in the Mask at the end. I'm not sure if this was coincidental or not. This info was not hard to find but it could've been.
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