Two Not Serious Horror Films

Alex had this idea we'd go see a movie while we were hanging out. Considering he wanted to see World War Z, I'm not too disappointed the plan fell through. We did end up watching a couple of movies last night. I only caught the last third of John Dies at the End, so I can't say a lot about it. It was funny, but I had a hard time getting into the tone of the film. I figure it's because I came in partway, plus I only did that because the sound of it woke me up at 2 a.m.

By the time that ended, Alex had made plans for us to have breakfast with a friend of his who got off work at 6, so why not stay up the remaining 3 hours? And what better way to spend that time than watching Tucker and Dale vs. Evil? I actually enjoyed that one a lot. Like it or not, I've seen a lot of movies where hillfolk kill stupid college kids, and this one played with that really well. Tucker and Dale's shift in mood over the course of the movie is so entertaining. They were so happy about the vacation house and the chance to fix it up. Then they're confused and distraught over the college kids' "suicide pact". Then they're terrified when the kids become more obviously murderous. The part where the Sheriff pulls up as they're dragging what's left of the kid out of the wood chipper was fantastic. 'Officer, we have just had a doozy of a day.'

The romantic subplot was sweet, especially how mutually supportive the two characters were towards each other. Dale was a nice guy that actually was a nice guy. His failures with women are his problem, a lack of confidence in his approach (and possibly a result of his personal hygiene). And he and Allison seem to enjoy talking to each other, so that was nice. I like that they actually used the previously established subplot about Dale having a remarkable array of minutiae in his head.

Also, whoever dressed and did makeup for the Chad character did an excellent job. I'm not sure he could have looked like more of a twit if they tried. Between the partially popped color, the hair, the smirk, the attitude, the way he treats everyone around him. It was an excellent performance, for creating a completely unlikeable character. I'm not sure about the last-minute reveal of his true parentage, because it felt like an attempt to evoke a little sympathy towards him, but it was kind of late in the game for that. Unless it was supposed to be a last twist of the knife.