Slew Hampshire

Review by Golden State Haunts and Events

In American Backwoods, four months after one of the most brutal slaughters happened in American history, four friends, Kid (Jeremy Isabella), Dude-Guy (Tyler Rice), Buddy (Shawn Thomas) and Bro (Dayo Okeniyi – The Hunger Games and Terminator: Genisys) travel from New Hampshire to the Canadian border to visit a private strip club in a rite of passage after a party they were to attend gets raided. They never make it to their destination after their car spins out and Officer Girth (Matt Hish) deems it unsafe to continue. The four friends are then taken captive and what ensues is a violent film filled with gore and violent scenes of rape.

With everything going on the movie is somewhat hard to follow so viewers must pay attention to all the subtleties and undertones. Director/writer Flood Reed has created an ultriovelent film that covers several topics spanning from mythology and horror to comedy. He even has a few scenes in the film. The scenes of gore seem more high budget using practical effects. Once the movie kicks into high gear it may offend and repulse but it offers a little for everyone. The only thing we didn't like was the complexity of the movie as we like our horror films to flow more smoothly and not have to try to peel back confusing layers.

I saw Slew Hampshire at its premiere on June 16th in New Hampshire. I felt the buzz when I walked in. Many rabid fans had been anticipating its release. Great vibe going on even before the lights dropped. I'm generally not a fan of horror movies. They usually don't scare me or move me. Takes a real good one with a great story to grab me. I normally remain unemotionally detached on my side of the screen.

That being said, this sick journey into a night gone wrong was one hell of an enjoyable trip. I totally got sucked in. Not too far into the film, I shared the characters' confusion, wanting to figure out what the hell was going on. With every reveal, I wished I hadn't been so curious. Be careful what you wish for. Still, the more twisted it got the more I wanted to know "Why? How? WTF?" The gory effects are fantastic. Both the cinematography and soundtrack were great. Mostly heavy and dark; yet the pretty backdrops and delicate music seemed much more eerie than the darkness that it juxtaposed. The calm before the terror. Not giving it a 10 because I didn't get enough resolution in the end. I get it. Leave it hanging. Not every picture gets a perfect frame. Still, there is WAY more depth to these savage characters, their history, what motivates them... Yes, my imagination *could* fill in a lot, but I need some back story!!

Sequel maybe? Prequel??

Since IMDb displays a User Rating which ignores the actual mean score in favor of a mysterious, much lower "weighted" average, it seems only appropriate to also display some of the high praise that the film has been receiving from actual horror media/critics:

"Goriest Scene Of The Year . . . a sumptuous visual feast" - Rue Morgue

"An intense and gory little surprise of a horror film . . . Highly recommended" - Ain't It Cool News

"The kind of indie horror movie every filmmaker should aspire to make." - The Film Splice

"One of the most gleefully gruesome movies you're likely to see this year." - Attack of the Couch Potato

"A high-tempo celebration of backwoods depravity" - Film Threat

"Gnarly, graphic and in your face" - Film Bizarro

"Brilliant style . . . a truly joyous experience for all fans of splatter!" - Extreme Horror Cinema

"A gore lover's delight . . . a stunning celluloid achievement" - Thy Demons Be Scribblin

"An ultra-gory, in-your-face, Deliverance-inspired backwoods nightmare." - Johnny Veins

"Gloriously gory . . . a wicked sense of black humour." - Haddonfield Horror

"If you are a gore hound, you absolutely have to check out the film." - Dreadworld

"Remains tense and entertaining throughout . . . Definitely worth a look!" - Search My Trash

"The story is elevated, next-level insanity" - A Southern Life in Scandalous Times

"Like a car wreck you can't look away from, and don't want to" - The Horror Honeys

"A must watch!" - Horror Movies Blog

"This is one you will want to put in your collection." - Horror Society

"This movie is a bloody gem." - Rogue Cinema

"Made me feel like I was using drugs when I was not" - Wicked Channel

"I watched this movie and got a wicked case of the fuzzies." - Reel Bloody

"Makes 'Deliverance' look like a nice vacation in the woods." - Horror News Network

"This massacre is surely one that should be sitting on your shelf." - Killer Reviews

"Keeps viewers glued to the TV" - Splats of Blood

There is nothing in this movie worth watching!! Everything from the ridiculous can't follow storyline to the absolutely horrible acting to the lame violence is all really, REALLY bad!!!

Save your time and don't even watch this for free.

As a hardcore horror fan when you see that a film was awarded "Goriest Scene of the Year" by Rue Morgue images of classic Cannibal Holocaust or the works of the "Godfather of Gore" himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis, immediately flash through your brain. Cult is the real gore hound between the two us but it's not like I shy away from it so since Cult was on vacation traipsing all around these Western United States the task of watching this gore fest fell to me. Hopefully he'll be able to watch it soon since he made the connection that enabled us to receive the screener from writer/director Flood Reed in the first place. American Backwoods: Slew Hampshire was also nominated for Best Feature, Best Actor and Best Editing at the 8th Annual Shockfest Film Festival of Hollywood. So let's see what all the fuss is about...

For the full review please visit Thy Demons Be Scribblin (thydemonsbescribblin.com)