In 1997, Bullfrog Productions released Dungeon Keeper, a computer game based on a very clever concept. Rather than guiding sword and axe-wielding heroes through dungeons to slay monsters and collect treasure, Dungeon Keeper players managed the dungeons and defended their stores of gold against invading heroes. Reviewers and players alike applauded this reversal of roles with many asking, "Why didn't someone think of this before?"
The premise behind Tucker & Dale vs. Evil—two good ol' boys fending off attacks by college kids—will no doubt inspire many viewers to ask the same question of this movie. Rather than churn out another clone of Deliverance or Wrong Turn, writer Morgan Jurgenson and director Eli Craig use the stereotype of bloodthirsty hillbillies as the springboard for a fun horror comedy.
Bad First Impressions
The story follows a band of college kids who head into the woods of West Virginia for a vacation. Along the way, they encounter the eponymous Tucker (Alan Tudyk, Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Dale (Tyler Labine, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes) who are themselves on vacation and do little to dispel the rather off-base preconceptions the youngsters have of country folk. In fact, Dale only reinforces the college kids' fear of good ol' boys when his awkward attempt to be friendly makes him seem like deranged lunatic.
Matters get considerably worse when in the evening, Allie (Katrina Bowden, TV's 30 Rock) slips while preparing to go for a swim and hits her head. Tucker and Dale rescue her, but the kids think that the men are kidnapping Allie. Believing that hillbillies are out to get them, the college kids attempt to rescue their friend and wage war against Tucker and Dale.
A Fortuitous Turn
According to the production notes from the film's Web site, writer Morgan Jurgenson once had to make a detour through a small town while heading into Los Angeles. The town Jurgenson passed through "was a strange little town, and it started me thinking about all the clichés of college kids losing their way and winding up in places like this."
Jurgenson's clever idea of reversing the roles of hillbillies and college kids is, in and of itself, admirable, but the success of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil lies in its execution. To start with, the script makes the titular good ol' boys very likeable. Tucker is the big brother in the relationship as he shows with all the advice he provides to Dale, such as "things don't just drop in your lap...if you want something, you have to go out get it." Dale, meanwhile, thinks he is not smart enough to be friends with the college kids but then reveals that he is able to keep odd facts in his head because he "remember[s] everything everyone says."
Making these well-written characters come to life are Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine who have terrific on-screen chemistry. They give the impression that their characters are indeed life-long friends when, in actuality, the two actors had never worked together before.
First-time feature director Eli Craig shows a sure hand behind the camera, keeping the pace of the movie even and washing out hues and tones in parts that need to play up an atmosphere of dread. Craig also stages some terrific sight gags, such as Tucker cutting into a beehive with a chainsaw, which prompts him to run screaming and flailing the chainsaw just as the college kids are approaching his house. The director brilliantly handles the unintentional chase that ensues, putting in some slow motion shots in just the right parts to build suspense before surprising the audience with the scene's conclusion.
Critics and even the promotional materials for Tucker & Dale vs. Evil compare the movie with Shaun of the Dead, primarily because they are both horror comedies. The difference, though, is that Shaun has characters making questionable decisions (when they should really know better), which had some viewers cheering for the zombies. Tucker & Dale, meanwhile, never leaves doubt about its good-natured protagonists while its story has an excellent moral: do not judge people prematurely... or bad things will happen to you.
Source:
www.magnetreleasing.com/tuckeranddalevsevil
Anthony Sin - Anthony Sin has been writing a while now, since The Beatles abandoned the clean-cut look in fact. Much to his surprise, he made it out of ...
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