100 Acres of Hell

"Danger in the woods" horror films follow a consistent formula. We start by meeting a group of attractive young twenty-somethings. For some reason (graduation, cheer one of them up, etc), they are all going out to some remote place (usually a cabin, camping grounds, or something like that). Travelling on dusty roads, they stop at some place where they meet up with some of the locals, and then they tell them where they are going, they are either looked at with horror or they are warned to stay away. The group laughs them off, and makes it to the remote place. When there, they spend some time goofing around, drinking and telling stories, until finally (after about 45 minutes into the movie) they are attacked by a psycho or a deranged family. Horror and chasing and running around ensures, until eventually only the final girl remains. The girl, usually attractive and dressed sexily, is left to fight off the evil doers until she escapes. And at the end, there may or may not be a twist.

Now, perhaps you read this and said, "You know, I really love 'Danger in the Woods' movies, but you know what I'd like? Instead of attractive twenty-somethings I'd much prefer a group of middle aged men. And instead of a sexy and attractive final girl, I'd much prefer a three-hundred pound middle aged man who used to be a professional wrestler." Well, if you did, then have I got a movie for you.

"100 Acres of Hell" is pretty much the standard "Danger in the Woods" movie with the roles replaced as I described. Former wrestler Gene Snisky (who also co-wrote the script) starts at "Buck Severs", a former wrestler who EVERYBODY seems to know and be awed by. After some injury and tragedy, his buddies -- Trent, Bo, and Morgan -- decide to take how out to a game preserve and have a "Bro Trip." The locals tell them about the legend of Jeb Tucker, who they are warned will track them down and kill them. But they go off and, as you might expect, they encounter what they thought was just a legend...

It's pretty much paint by numbers stuff except... well, I missed the hot twenty somethings. A group of middle aged guys with paunches just didn't do it for me. I mean, everybody tried. While some of the dialog was ridiculous, the actors gave it their all. Jeb Tucker is played by Sam Anoai, another former wrestler (he was "Samu" and is part of the Anoa'i family that produced The Rock), so that was sort of cool. There is an attempt to make things more interesting by bring in some bikers, and a quick appearance by the great Catherine Corcoran (really an extended cameo, just a couple of "blink and you'll miss her" scenes). I mean, it's not bad, it's just nothing we haven't seen before dozens of times and the changes to the formula didn't add anything worthwhile to it.

This movie delivered for me on so many levels. The open, classic horror references, the music, that "80's slasher/horror ," feel, the storyline, the comedic relief sprinkled throughout the film, and the big pay off at the end! I highly recommend this film! We need a SEQUEL!!

The rating on Amazon Prime fooled me. This is some campy horror. Bad dialog from adults who I can't imagine talking like that.

Trying to work through a comeback, a pill-popping former wrestler decides to join a group of friends on a weekend camping trip to relax and unwind, but when they arrive at the camping spot they find the area is home to a sadistic killer living in the area try to get out of the woods alive.

For the most part, this was a fun and highly enjoyable effort. One of it's better features is the fact that there's a fast and fun pace on display from the very beginning that keeps this moving along quite well. The opening introduction of the attack on the family who gets brutally slaughtered by the thugs serves as a fine introduction to get this one going, as it's not long afterward that they get going into the series of antics at the trip up to the campsite. Not only giving this a clear indication of the group dynamics but also sets up the later half by getting the group of adoring teens they come across that gives the group a reason for having the party, working out a classic slasher storyline in fine form. This setup in the first half is then ably paid off with a stellar series of attack scenes in the second half. From the initial ambush attacks picking off the kids at the party that manages to include some stellar kill scenes using the weapons the killer can find around him, the realization of their having trespassed onto dangerous territory grows when they begin looking for their missing friend and get hunted down one-by-one throughout the woods that adds some tension into the mix. The finale, involving the bikers getting involved only to be summarily massacred and forcing a tense, brutal and exciting beatdown confrontation that ends this on a fine note, offers this one some enjoyable elements. There are some flaws to be had here. The biggest issue is the entirely too predictable and way too formulaic of just about any killer-in-the-woods genre effort where its easy to tell what's going on for the most part. That's mostly the rather unbelievable manner in which they stumble upon the fateful section of the woods, which is somewhat made out to be a majorly-desired destination without much reason why. Everything they're told is a warning away from the location yet the way they sneak onto that particular spot of land is quite unusual as for why they would want to go there specifically out of the dozens of other locations in the area. Otherwise, this one doesn't have much else wrong.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity.

I don't like horror movies but this was REALLY good. I love that it was made locally and shown in Coaldale, PA. The movie kept me glued to the screen the whole time. I was rooting for the main character and then BAM, I was hit with a surprise ending. Left me intrigued. Go see it! You won't be disappointed.