Manhunt - Backwoods Massacre

This has got to be one of the most rudimentary plotted and primitively accomplished horror movies of the (still relatively young) new Millennium, but personally I appreciated it a lot more than the vast majority of hi-tech computerized and wannabe trendy & intellectual flicks nowadays. And yes, I do realize I sound like an embittered old man! "Manhunt" is a prototypic so-called backwoods survival thriller and, moreover, a straightforwardly obvious ode to the pioneer and granddaddy of ALL backwoods survival thrillers "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The resembling plot is the most apparent tribute, of course, but director/co-writer Patrik Syversen expresses his respect and admirations for Tobe Hooper's horror landmark through a handful of minor details in particular, like for example the characters' similar minivan and the year in which the events supposedly take place, 1974, the release year of TCM. Setting the film in the early 70's has another great advantage, by the way, namely the elimination of some horrible clichés like the adolescent characters talking about their Facebook account the entire time and – most importantly – the elimination of the phrase: "I can't get a signal on my mobile phone!". Back then, girls also weren't as stupid as to go on a camping trip wearing make-up and stiletto heels, which makes it a lot easier for them to run from their assailants later on in the film. Anyways, so the year is 1974 and this quartet of youngsters – I deliberately refrain from calling them friends – are heading out to the middle of Norwegian nowhere to go camping. They pick up an extremely nervous female hitch-hiker at a roadside diner and this quickly turns out to be a very bad idea. Shortly after, they find themselves relentlessly pursued by a trio of seemingly motiveless but ultimately savage huntsmen. The biggest trump of "Manhunt" is undeniably the tense and ominous atmosphere. The film isn't just set in the year 1974; it often actually feels like you're watching a 70's flick, what with its raw cinematography and nihilistic tone. Another big trump here is the characterization of the villains. I usually prefer to know a bit about the bad guys' background and/or motivations, but the fact that they remain mysterious, vague and silent throughout the entire film here actually contributes to the gritty overall tone and disturbance level. We only know that they hunt down and set booby traps for human beings instead of animals and that they're unbelievably cruel. For example, they use barb wire to tie up their victims instead of regular rope and stab women in the back of their necks without hesitating. Needless to say "Manhunt" can be considered quite shocking and sick. I assume that the majority of the available budget went to the make-up department to buy blood and fake intestines. Money well spent, as the killing sequences are truly a horror fanatic's delight! The filming locations, acting performances and rough editing are also very suitable to the type of film the makers wanted to deliver.

I'm all for films paying homage to other 'genre-defining' movies, however 'Manhunt' doesn't so much as pay homage to its predecessors like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn, as completely rip them off.

It's about a foursome of young students who go into the mountains, only to be picked off by various redneck hunters. There's nothing wrong with that as a premise, but only if it's done in an original or slightly different way. However, it's just not. Manhunt is basically every other film of that genre, just set in a different country (oh, and there's subtitles for those of you who don't like non-English speaking films).

Unfortunately, some of the teens being stalked are completely unlikeable, one man even going as far as to practically terrorise his girlfriend and physically abuse her BEFORE the rednecks even get them. With characters like that, you can hardly work up much sympathy when they're murdered by the (real) baddies. And those we are supposed to like are just too stupid to relate to. When being hunted they never stop giving away their position by screaming for their separated friends.

Also, the film adheres to every slasher cliché in the book: chased through woods. Check. Rednecks. Check. Camper van and hitchhiker. Check. And so on.

We're never told anything about the redneck hunters and their motives. They don't even speak, leaving us to wonder why they're doing what they do.

Apart from the gore (which is very good/brutal, depending on what you like) and the cinematography (which is also nicely shot, creating a bleak and brooding atmosphere with the use of colour pallet), Manhunt will never be a classic. Just a rip-off that offers nothing new. I know I've slated it here, but actually it's not that bad. It's only real flaw is how totally unoriginal it is. Pity.

Especially the characters. But it still captures your attention, because it's lean, mean and fortunately short (running time wise). Yes it's not logical, yes the characters are not likable (see above and/or summary line), yes there are plot holes ... but those are things (cliches) that you see in almost any(every) horror movie these days, it's up to you to decide how bad you think it is.

Another reviewer wrote that the whole thing seems to come from nowhere and that there is no explanation for what's happening. For one thing, I'd rather have it that way, rather than some stupid "had rough childhood(s) and this lead to ..." explanation. But if you really look for something, a reason, than the first "meeting" will give a little bit of a clue. For it's low budget heritage it's OK. Not special, but with better written characters, this could've gone a long way :o)

The backwoods/survivalist horror genre is one of my favourites, but the films do have a tendency to follow the same formula, Manhunt being no exception. A typical example of 'doing things by the book', it starts in time-honoured fashion with four friends travelling through the wilderness in their VW camper-van (the film is set in 1974, a tribute to that classic of the genre, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre perhaps). After the predictable run in with hostile locals at a roadside diner, they do the expected thing by picking up a scared hitch-hiker, inadvisably stop in the middle of nowhere, and, in yet another retelling of The Most Dangerous Game, fall prey to a group of hunters who prefer killing humans to animals.

Despite all of the familiar trappings, this sort of thing can work very well just so long as there are regular thrills and inventive bloody kills, the protagonists are likable, and they don't behave like absolute idiots; Manhunt is suitably vicious in tone and features some reasonable splatter (although it's not as creatively bloody as I would have liked), but sadly its young victims aren't very appealing and act like morons. They constantly bicker with each other, stupidly insult the locals, and repeatedly make ill-advised decisions that only worsen their already dire situation. In short, I couldn't care less if they survived or ended up as trophies lashed to the bonnet of a Norwegian maniac's Landrover.

Patrick Syversen and Ninni Robsahm must be the most dangerous couple in Norway. Together they transformed the harmonic Norwegian woods into a dark nightmare. When this film kicks in you can either love or hate it, but that's how it should be with this kind of movies.

The title music by David Hess(taken from Last House on the Left) sets the mood and from there on you can just lean back and get scared out of your mind. This is not the sterile dreamy and slightly funny kind of horror that we usually see these days. Rovdyr has taken back the hardcore thrill ride story telling we saw in American and Italian horror movies during the 70's.

I hope Syversen and Robsahm will continue on the route they have started because they are most interesting as makers of Norwegian horror.