Four female friends go camping into the woods, but things go horribly wrong they are found by a group of people who enjoy hunting humans for sport.
Or... How I learned to stop worrying and love Len Kabasinski.
Starring: Lisa Neeld, Sara Brooks, Pamela Sutch, Melissa Scott
Link to IMDB
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| Kabasinski, camera warrior. |
Kabasinski has become a true master at making some of the worst modern B-movies you'll ever want to see. This brings the promise of two things; his movies are very clumsily put together with no budget, and also made with a real passion to fit the genre and expectations of what bad movies should be all about... If this happened on purpose or not is debatable.
It doesn't take long to instantly recognize the main problem with Skull Forest. The camera work is just terrible. When the camera isn't busy shaking all over the place, almost every single shot is a dutch angle taken to a level of absurdity. I can handle the low quality and do-it-yourself aspects of any movie, but the camera shouldn't be used as an enemy against the audience's ability to see what is happening! At first it seems almost unwatchable, but once you get used to the style you will realize that there might actually be a method to the madness, and you just have to roll with it. More on that important factor later...
Alright, let's talk about the story. Four women go camping to relax, but soon find themselves in the middle of a murderous game of "hunt or be hunted." Be thankful I explained that to you, because the movie barely does, instead relying on the fact that you probably read the synopsis on the back of the DVD first. The plot is nothing new, but there are some unexpected twists and plenty of moments when you'll suddenly realize you're much more invested into the movie than you ever could have imagined.
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| It's beer o' clock, ladies ! |
If you can make it past the first 30 minutes (and thankfully the running time is a quick 73 minutes,) something special happens. Your mind has stopped trying to understand the unorthodox camera work, and you become convinced that it's actually there to serve a purpose. The story and characters have goals now, and you might even care about them! You'll even see glimpses of Kabasinski's talent begin to appear as he makes some bold storytelling choices and gets creative with the violence. And most importantly, you will find yourself actually having fun!
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| Boom ! Boom ! |
At no point did I want to stop this movie. Once I accepted it for what it is, I knew I was officially going to make it out of Skull Forest alive!
Be sure not to miss:
- The tough blonde man with the long pony tail is Len Kabasinski himself. (also pictured above)
- There are some moments when the camera settles down and actually frames a shot. And it's almost always when Kabasinski is busy acting in front of the camera. Go figure!
- The bird sound effects on an endless five second loop.
Internet review:
"Anytime you watch a Len Kabasinski movie you are struggling with every fiber of your brain to understand what is happening." - Jack@rlm
Should I watch it?
This is regarded as one of Kabasinski's better movies, although the "experimental" camera work is a big problem for everyone. But like I said, once you let the movie sink in, there is something here worth seeing for fans of the truly bad.
Where can I find it?
Primewire has a bunch of links. Reliable old gorillavid worked great.
Skull Forest gets...
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