Movies
Sundance ’10 REVIEW: First Look at ‘Tucker & Dale vs Evil’ Mixed
The 2010 Sundance Film Festival officially kicled off last night with the first midnight screening being Eli Craig’s horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs Evil. While Ryan Daley is down in the freezing cold, Bloody Disgusting is also receiving a slew of reviews courtesy of the lovely Roxanne Benjamin (aka Reckless Rox here on BD) . To kick off the coverage, beyond the break you’ll find Roxanne’s thoughts on Tucker & Dale, a film that sounds like it didn’t blow any minds.
The premiere of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil was completely packed out last night at the Library Center Theater as Park City After Midnight kicked off. Even for a midnight screening, the wait list line was long-and some had been standing in the snow for 2 hours on the off-chance they could make it in to the screening. The rambunctious crowd was less industry and more actual film lovers, with the suits out networking at the various RSVP-only open bar parties around the mountain.
The short documentary horror hybrid THE S FROM HELL preceded the film, the first horror-comedy-doc about an advertising logo in perhaps, well, ever. It garnered a few laughs, but the voiceover describing the terror that the logo induced tended to the repetitive.
The premise of Tucker & Dale is by now well-covered: a comedy movie with horror elements rather than a horror movie with comedic elements. Definite tongue-in-cheek references to the Evil Deads and Army of Darkness are scattered throughout the film. Director Eli Craig stated that Raimi’s work had a direct influence on the feel of the Tucker and Dale, which originally developed from the question “What if Leatherface was really innocent, and the whole thing was a misunderstanding?”
I have to give props to the writers for the number of ways that a college student can inadvertently off themselves without the two main characters knowing what the hell is going on. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk show off their acting chops as Dale and Tucker the well-meaning hillbillies, playing at both high and low-brow levels of comedic genius and stupidity (often within the same sentence). The two raise the bar of the film exponentially, and the one-on-one interactions between the two are the definite highlight of the film.
Dale’s love interest, played by actress Katrina Bowden, fills both the horror and romantic comedy role of the hot survivor girl with a heart of gold, playing straight man to Dale’s fumbling romantic attempts to a tee. Where the movie fails is in the ensemble acting of the college kids-we know they’re supposed to be clueless, but that doesn’t mean their dialogue needs to be as well. The actors don’t play well off of each other in their group scenes until the last third of the movie, and the ringleader frat boy’s performance overpowers the others. More than a few cheers went up as the body count rose.
For a beginner film trying to ride the line of romantic comedy and horror, Tucker & Dale is both original and satisfying on the gore meter. When it hits its stride and the action picks up in the second act, it breaks out of its own self-consciousness and brings out the best of both genres. The film definitely has its high and low spots, with some strange directorial and editing choices being made, particularly in the flashback scenes in the first act. Tucker & Dale is a fun movie that is definitely worth a view, though it doesn’t quite live up to the hype.
Rating: 6/10
Add Roxanne as a friend here on BD.
Nicolas Winding Refn. Michael Mann. Pinocchio. Today’s lineup of new horror movie releases is eclectic, to say the least, and we’ve got the full rundown for you as we head into the weekend.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, July 24, 2026!
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell is now playing in theaters from NEON.
In the film, when a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity, a troubled young woman searches for her father. Her quest collides with an American GI on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from Hell.
Sophie Thatcher (“Yellowjackets”), Charles Melton (“Riverdale”), Kristine Froseth (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), Havana Rose Liu (No Exit), and Diego Calva (Babylon) star.
The ensemble also includes Dougray Scott (Hitman), Aoi Yamada (Perfect Days), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), and Hidetoshi Nishijima (Shin Ultraman).
Nicolas Winding Refn directs Her Private Hell from a script he co-wrote with Esti Giordani (“Vida”). Pino Donaggio (Carrie, Don’t Look Now) composed the score.
Refn produces under his byNWR Originals banner. Executive producers include Takuma Takasaki, Kimberly Willming, Christina Erritzøe, and Lene Børglum.
Her Private Hell is rated ‘R’ for “some strong/bloody violence, sexual content, and language.”
Michael Mann‘s adaptation of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon has received a new 4K restoration in celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary this year, and it’s been dubbed Michael Mann’s Manhunter: The Final Cut. The film is now playing in select U.S. theaters.
In Manhunter, “FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (William L. Petersen) is called out of early retirement to assist on a serial murder case involving a killer known as the “Tooth Fairy” (Tom Noonan). Graham enlists the help of imprisoned serial killer — and cannibal — Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox), who is the reason Graham took an early retirement.
“Soon, Graham and the FBI are entangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the Tooth Fairy, Lecter, and an interfering journalist (Stephen Lang).“
Michael Mann guided this 4K scan of the original 35mm negative, with a few shots from an interpositive, that was conformed and digitally restored at L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna.
This new 4K Final Cut, overseen by Michael Mann, “enhances the film’s depth, visual clarity and sound, offering audiences the ultimate immersive version,” per the press release.
Part of the cinematic universe known as the “Poohniverse,” Pinocchio Unstrung puts a horror movie spin on the classic tale, and the film is now playing only in theaters.
The chilling reimagining of the familiar fable unfolds inside an elite London prep school. Created by Geppetto and influenced by a sinister Cricket, Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother, one piece at a time…
Richard Brake (Barbarian) stars in Pinocchio Unstrung as the obsessive Geppetto, with horror icon Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street) as the voice of Cricket.
Pinocchio is voiced by Jude Evan Lloyd and brought to life via a practical animatronic created by Todd Masters (“Tales from the Crypt,” Slither). Cameron Bell, Jessica Balmer, Jack Art Gray, and Peter De Souza-Feighoney round out the horror movie’s cast.
Rhys Frake-Waterfield (Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey) writes and directs the British slasher, in addition to producing alongside Scott Jeffrey via their Jagged Edge Productions.
This is fifth entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe, following Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, and Bambi: The Reckoning.
The Poohniverse continues with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3, currently in production, and the crossover film Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, slated to shoot this summer.
Danny Trejo stars in indie horror movie Accursed, released on Digital today.
Here’s the official synopsis: “When a nun’s cursed secret resurfaces on Emma’s 21st birthday, a lake-house reunion turns deadly. A masked cult and dark prophecy force Emma and her friends to face possession, betrayal, and a midnight ritual that could raise ancient evil.”
Humberto Rosa and Brian Frank Visciglia directed. Gabriel Sousa, Paris Dylan, Philippe A. Haddad, Kira Cahill, Lulu Bailey, Rafael Amadeu, and Vivien Soraya also star.
And finally, Dark Sky Films released Cruel Hands on Digital today.
“A mother and her young son escape from an abusive husband to an isolated farmhouse, only to find themselves trapped between him and a raging bushfire that surrounds them.”
Cruel Hands is directed by Al Kalyk.
Mavournee Hazel, Iolanthe, Max Cattana, Charlotte Friels, Harry Greenwood, Diesel La Torraca, Josh McConville, Jack Sacks, and Jesse Turner star in the film.
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