One of my favorite movies of the year is Eli Craig’s wild hillbilly horror/comedy, Tucker & Dale vs Evil. The film is set to hit the Blu-ray and DVD shelves on November 29th thanks to Magnolia Home Entertainment and all I can say is that this should be on your holiday shopping list if you love bloody comedies that are genuinely heartfelt.
“Tucker (Tyler Labine) and Dale (Alan Tudyk) are two best friends on vacation who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of preppy college kids. When one of the kids gets separated from her friends [Katrina Bowden-30 Rock), Tucker and Dale try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count.”
It’s a nice twist on the hillbilly horror premise with the film revolving around a basic misunderstanding and the manipulation of perception by an evil college student named Chad (Jesse Moss). I’ve seen this movie three times this year and it is undeniably brilliant in its delivery of total carnage and hysteria. Eli Craig, who also co-wrote the film with Morgan Jurgenson, has taken a cue from the cult hit Shaun of the Dead and put his twist on the horror/comedy mashup it by utilizing characters that have seemed to have vanished from the big screen, funny hillbillies.
The over the top acting by the main “villain” [Chad] was actually perfect for the feature. While a little overbearing at times, Jesse Moss’ ability to be overly sinister is what helped emphasize the humor and garner more laughs than originally anticipated. It definitely aided in the Labine and Tudyk’s comedic timing with the college kids, although the two of them are comedic pros in their own right, just watch Death at a Funeral for proof of Tudyk’s genius and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy for Labine’s gifts. The chemistry between Tudyk and Labine is the real reason why this movie flourishes and the number one reason you should see the film. Overall, the casting choices were perfect and the performances were just as spot on for this sure-fire cult hit.
This is an outstanding start for first time director Eli Craig. If he can consistently churn out films as original and entertaining as this, he will have himself one long and promising career in one of the most unrelenting industries in the world.
If I can recommend one thing to avoid when it comes to this film, don’t watch the trailer. My favorite part of the film 
has to do with the wood chipper and if you watch the trailer it’ll ruin the surprise of the scene and its truly shocking and bellyaching comedic value. I keeled over laughing when I was watching that iconic scene and if you don’t get to experience it fresh it won’t have the same appeal as it did for me.
As for the disc itself, the movie comes with a bunch of great special features, something Magnolia rarely skimps on. There is a “Making of Tucker & Dale vs Evil” featurette which is footage cut with interviews giving us an overall idea of how the film was made and what made it work so well. There is a “Tucker & Dale ARE Evil: The College Kids’ Point of View” feature which is essentially the entire movie made with only the cuts from the college kids perspective. It’s a really unique and cool feature but it doesn’t come out nearly as good as the hilarious regular version. The disc also contains some comical outtakes, storyboards, and hilarious and technical commentary with Eli Craig, Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk. Lastly, the disc contains ‘HD Net: A Look at Tucker & Dale vs. Evil’ and the original theatrical trailer. P.S. the film looks incredible in 1080P, a result of filming with the RED camera.
Tucker & Dale vs Evil is a fun, campy and unconventional horror romp that will bring so much joy to the lives of horror and cult fans alike, mostly because of how innocent and gory it is. In actuality, death has never been as funny as it was in this flick. With fantastic performances, nasty kills that somehow make you smile and bellyaching humor, Tucker & Dale vs Evil is easily one of the best comedies of 2011 and a must own on blu-ray or dvd!
Movie Rating: A brilliant, heartfelt and hilariously misunderstood backwoods horror story (8/10)
Blu-ray rating: (7/10)
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