Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) head to their mountain cabin for a weekend of fishing, drinking and fixer-upper’ing and find their world shattered by the arrival of a group of college kids who mistakenly confuse them with hillbilly murderers intent on doing them harm. Things get worse when they save beautiful blonde coed Allison (Katrina Bowden) from drowning  only to have her friends think they’re going to do unspeakable harm to her. Next thing they know college kids are dropping dead all over their property, seemingly intent on doing themselves in as gruesomely and disgustingly as possible with a clueless Tucker and Dale looking on in total horror.

CRITIQUE

Here’s what I wrote about this movie back in September:

“Tucker & Dale vs. Evil was without question one of the runaway hits of the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival. Heck, going back even further it was a bona fide smash at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Seriously, it’s been a hit at every single festival it has played, it has been a modest hit theatrically abroad and, to my knowledge, I haven’t met a single person who has seen it – critic or regular festivalgoer – who hasn’t at least moderately enjoyed themselves while watching it…

…This movie is certifiably insane, that’s a given, but it’s also extremely witty, has far more intelligence than you might originally expect and has a grand time exploding clichés and playing with an audience’s expectations. Things never quite work out the way you think they are going to, and as soon as the blood and guts start to fly all bets are off as to who is going live, who is going to die and what, exactly, the eventual outcome is going to be.

Director and co-writer Eli Craig, along with fellow screenwriter Morgan Jurgenson, have a done a glorious job of subverting convention and playing with the B-grade splatter horror film in a way that feels refreshing and new. Much like what Peter Jackson did with both Bad Taste and Dead Alive or what Jonathan King managed (to an admittedly somewhat lesser extent) did with Black Sheep, the duo have crafted an ingenious bit of grotesque satire that’s boldly unconventional and yet supremely entertaining at the same time. Limbs may be severed, viscera might get thrown at the screen by the bucket loads, yet there is a warmth and subtly whimsical honesty that pervades the picture start to finish. Tucker and Dale are nice guys stuck in a bad situation, and as absurd and as disgusting as things might get nothing that happens changes that.

Tudyk and Labine never overplay their respective hands, never take their performances too far over the top. Yes what is going on is ridiculous, and sure they’re playing a couple of not particularly sharp yokels, but that doesn’t mean either allows their performance to lapse into caricature or stereotype. While they have fun, they don’t make fun, a difference sure to be lost on some but noticeable to me, and as such I found myself caring and relating to both men far more intimately than I probably would have otherwise.

I’m not sure what happened here. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a wonderfully entertaining bit of splatter comedy that just gets better and better the more I think about it. It plays beautifully, and much like Attack the Block this is supremely entertaining popcorn munching fluff I could watch again and again without too much trouble at all. I love this movie, ranked it as my second favorite film to come out of last year’s Seattle festival right behind Winter’s Bone meaning, as far as 2011 is concerned, there’s a good chance you could see me talking about it again come the end of December.”

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is positively awesome. I’ve watched it a good five times now, and enjoyed each and every viewing. This is an instant cult sensation deserving of a massive following; here’s hoping it finds one now that it is available on Blu-ray and DVD.

THE VIDEO

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is presented on a dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video with 2.35:1/1080p transfer.

THE AUDIO

This movie comes to Blu-ray with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track and features optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

EXTRAS

Extras include:

·         Audio commentary with co-writer/director Eli Craig actors Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk – Easily this disc’s highlight, this wonderful commentary track features Craig, Labine and Tudyk waxing poetic on every aspect of this film’s production. Most notably, they touch on the fact about how difficult compiling special features for a Blu-ray release would be, noting that because they shot so fast and loose there wasn’t a lot in the way of deleted material or behind-the-scenes footage.

·         Making of Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil (12:23) – See what I wrote about the audio commentary? Here’s exhibit A as to just how accurate Craig and company were about their special features possibility assessment, this making-of doc not incredibly interesting and actually fairly standard in a hastily assembled EPK-style sort of way.

·         Tucker and Dale ARE Evil: The College Kids' Point of View (16:47) – Exhibit B, this re-cut short film version of the picture told from the college kids’ point of view not nearly as interesting as it sounds like it would be in theory, exactly the assessment Craig honestly makes about it during the audio commentary.

·         Outtakes (7:51) – These, on the other hand, are actually pretty hysterical, bucking the usual outtake and gag reel footage trend and are easily – next to the commentary track – this disc’s undeniable highlight.

·         HDNet: A Look at Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (4:32) – Typical HDNet promo piece I can’t even come close to recommending.

·         Storyboards – A full 97 storyboards to take a look at; perspective filmmakers should definitely take note.

·         Original Theatrical Trailer (2:32)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a heck of a lot of fun and a movie I have thoroughly enjoyed multiple times now. Definitely give it a look.