It’s a foursome of fright flicks in the forest, with masked killers, unmasked killers, vampires, and Bigfeet. Let’s get right into them.
WOLF MOUNTAIN (2022)
This is a really uneven slasher. A young man is struggling with suppressed memories of what happened to his parents, so his therapist (played by Tobin Bell) recommends that he return to the spot where they fell off a cliff.
He, his brother, and their friends head into the wilderness. One friend happens to be played by Matt Rife. You’ll be shocked to know he plays a douchebag. His versatility as an actor is amazing.
Meanwhile, Danny Trejo and some other dude are a couple of criminals traipsing through the woods. Trejo is also the first murdered.
The main group has a run-in with some park rangers, including one who is supposed to be some sort of comic relief, but his shtick, while funny, is totally not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the movie.
It takes a while for the kills to kick in, but once they do, they are about the only upside to this weak flick. The cast spends lots of time walking around the woods, we only see the killer’s mask fleetingly, and despite falling off a cliff during the final confrontation with the main guy, the killer (who is a mere mortal) somehow comes back for another sequence at the end…completely unscathed.
ANOTHER CABIN IN THE WOODS MOVIE (2024)
Based on the title, you’d think this was going to be an over-the-top slasher comedy spoof. That isn’t the case. Virtually the only comedy and spoofing here is that if you pay attention, there is often a television or a radio on in the background, and the dialogue or song lyrics are literally telling you exactly what cliché is about to occur in the movie.
Unfortunately, the slasher aspect of the film isn’t all that thrilling either, despite good production values and some bloody kills. Predictably, a group of friends goes to a cabin in the woods, this time for a newlywed celebration.
They meet the weird old caretaker (of course) and actually invite him to party with them. Another apparent joke has his voice going from normal to demonic every time he speaks, and no one seems to notice. Don’t expect it to hold any significance, because it doesn’t.
Instead, the movie plays out with the usual tropes. There’s infighting, couples have sex (yay!), they split up, people begin to disappear, etc. We never see the killer, and there’s no mask.
Once we find out who the killer is during the final battle, there’s a twist that requires basically the whole movie to be recapped in flashbacks for it to make sense. Eh.
VAMPIRE LAKE (2024)
I can’t believe this film comes from the director of Midnight Screening, which had some standout moments for a low budget slasher. Vampire Lake is just void of anything engaging.
A couple of women and teenage girls are having a girl weekend at a cabin in the woods. They mention a legend about summoning a vampire by the lake. After lots of talk, one of the teenage girls finally heads down to the lake alone and does the ritual.
40 minutes in, the vampire appears to her. No atmosphere here since his appearances are always in the daytime. Not to mention, he’s not all that menacing. The characters spend the rest of the film running around the woods. The most blood you see is dripping from the vampire’s mouth and occasional on a victim’s neck.
Despite the film being flat with no onscreen horror to speak of, the ending twist is clever. I only wish it had been attached to a better movie.
FEET OF DEATH (2024)
If this Bigfoot film had been about 80 minutes long instead of 105 minutes long, I probably would have enjoyed it more. Not even several bearded rednecks in uniform helped kill the time. I prefer my bearded rednecks in uniform when they’re all action, no talk, but it’s the opposite here.
It opens strong with a young woman finding a missing influencer dead in the woods. Then a park ranger grieving from the loss of his woman has to get himself together to investigate with the local sheriff.
Seems there have been numerous cases of people getting attacked or going missing in the woods, and legend has it that Bigfoot is the culprit.
Do not expect any major Bigfoot thrills. This is basically a mystery movie, with the lead characters investigating the murder by speaking to various “experts”, including an animal behavior expert, a coroner, etc.
The final act is where all the fun happens. There are several twists, and while they are goodies, I’ve actually seen them in other Bigfoot movies, so it’s nothing new. There’s some very brief Bigfoot action, but the plot takes a final turn that is so not a happy ending, and I just love that kind of thing. This movie simply needed more Bigfoot attacks and less talk.
