A teen joins his best friend's family for a trip out to the woods for the weekend. However, the teens discover that their neighbour hides a dark secret, one that will put them at risk...
On the surface, a cabin in the woods, teens in peril, evil creatures afoot, Dead Shack has nothing really new going on. It's a story told many times before. But where Dead Shack succeeds where a number of similar films fail, is in it's character and humour.
The script by Phil Ivanusic, Davila LeBlanc and Peter Ricq mixes the horror side of the story with some great humour that works very well indeed. But before the horror begins, the characters are rounded out well,including the parents as well as the teens and you do genuinely care what happens to them.
The casting is key. Matthew Nelson-Mahood plays Jason, the friend along with the family. It's a performance that recalls early Christian Slater and he's quite good. Lizzie Boys plays Summer the daughter and often the smartest person in the room and she plays the part well. Gabriel LaBelle plays Colin, Jason's best friend and although he could have been annoying character, the writing and performance prevent this from happening. Donovan Stinson plays the father, who wants to get 'down' with the kids and is great fun and while having less screen time, Valerie Tian plays Lisa, whom the father, Roger, is dating and she does it well.
Perhaps the most surprising casting is Lauren Holly as the neighbour, who hides the dark secret. She doesn't get many lines, spending most of the film in a leather body armour outfit, but her actual story is an interesting one, perhaps deserving of more investigation in the film.
The confrontations when they happen are well staged, again with a lot of humour involved. It might not be scary but it does have a couple of good jump moments. The violence is well done and has very good final act indeed.
Dead Shack is a film that uses its low budget to deliver a very good film indeed. It might not be the most original film, but it knows what it wants to be and director Peter Ricq strives to make the best film he can with the good material and he does just that.
I really enjoyed Dead Shack, another of my favourites from FrightFest and one I would recommend if you get the chance to see it.
Rating - 4/5
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