Okay, let's say you're a deeply pretentious filmmaker with a shoestring budget and you want to do a movie about a family and a deer monster. You still following me? Good. Now, what's the best way to produce your "German expressionist horror film" while aptly disguising your lack of funding and lack of talent at the
same time? a) Learn more about human interaction and how to write natural-sounding dialogue and charactersb) Learn more about the process of capturing an aesthetically appealing image on camerac) use freak-ass editing and shitty looking jump shots and reiterate over and over through repetitive scenes that THIS FAMILY HAS PROBLEMS BUT IT'S OKAY THEY LOVE EACH OTHER.Three guesses as to which option Larry Fessenden picked. By the way, Fessenden is clearly the biggest tool ever. If this movie's chronic head-up-its-ass syndrome wasn't a definite indicator, look at his picture on IMDB. It sends douche chills running up my spine. I guess it's not fair to totally lambast this movie, because there were one and a half things I liked about it. The first is Patricia Clarkson, who I'll watch in basically anything; why she is pissing her career away in movies like this and The Woods totally eludes me. I'm really glad she's in Shutter Island, the new Scorsese film which I'm fucking excited for. GO PATTY GOThe other half thing that I kind of liked was that Wendigo does try to explore some interesting themes before it falls in love with its own idiotic mythos. Ideas like moral objectivity and sentience are touched upon ever so slightly; sadly, Fessendouche refuses to expound on them, instead opting to show us jittery stop-motion shots of some cunt in a deer suit running around in the woods. But what's wrong with Wendigo? Besides what I've already mentioned - Jake Weber is impressively bad. If you're getting out-acted by a seven year old, then it's time to find a new job. Said seven year old is actually a pretty good actor, but guys, DON'T put him in any more horror films. His scared expression was by far the most unintentionally hilarious moment in a movie that is full of them. Eh, I forgive him, he wasn't too heinous for the most part.
January 29, 2008
Top Critic
