Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS OF THE BLU-RAY DVD OF THIS MOVIE NOT YET LISTED AS SUCH ON EPINIONS.


I can't begin to state how much I love this movie. Since coming in I've watched it three times and feel like I could watch it again and still find myself laughing all the way. That's rare these days and for me was a special treat as the same week I first watched it I fell in love with ATTACK THE BLOCK as well. To find one movie that can be rewatched over and over again is rare but two the same week?

While not an outright parody, the movie takes set ups for horror movies that have become rather routine and turns them upside down to make one funny movie. Having recently sat through WRONG TURN 4, this movie was a perfect match for that with the exception that this one was so much better.

A stereotypical group of college students are on their way to a camping trip in the back woods of West Virginia. On the road they are passed by two stereotypically looking redneck hillbillies in their battered old truck. Of course the students conjure up images of killer hillbillies when they see them.

On the other hand we get to meet the pair from their perspective. Tucker and Dale are just two friends on their way to a cabin that Tucker has just purchased. This will be their summer getaway retreat where they can fish and drink beer and have a good old time. Their interest in college kids is for the most part non-existent.

They encounter the same duo when they stop at a general store to buy beer and ice. There Dale tells Tucker that the one girl is really good looking. Tucker encourages him to go talk to them girls and show confidence when he does so by smiling and laughing. Of course when Dale chooses to walk over while holding a scythe and then giggling maniacally the kids think he's a psycho ready to kill them.

Each group reaches their destination and the lead guy with the kids sits at the campfire telling them about a killer who once roamed the woods they are now in. Descriptions of hillbilly killers who hunted down a group of campers set the teens on edge which they break by deciding to go skinny dipping. One of them, Allison, falls and hits her head. Who comes to her rescue but Tucker and Dale, out on the lake drinking beer and fishing. When they call to the kids for help, the kids think they've captured their friend and are eating her face (as opposed to giving her mouth to mouth).

The next morning Allison wakes to discover the two men aren't crazy at all and begins to get to know them. At the same time the students have formed their own opinion. Having seen movies about killer hillbillies, they've decided that Allison has been kidnapped and set out to rescue her. What follows is a comedy of errors where teens view every action as an attack and where Tucker and Dale see each failed attack as being done by crazy college kids who they assume have joined for a suicide pact.

The humor in this film is so over the top that just as you finish laughing at one event another pops up and you start laughing again. One example I can share (since it's in the trailer for the movie) is when Tucker is tossing wood into a wood chipper. One of the kids plans on jumping him. Tucker can't hear a thing over the noise of the chipper and when the kid goes to jump him, Tucker bends down to pick up another piece of wood which results in the kid jumping head first into the chipper. Yes, it's gory but the absurdity of the whole situation makes the entire episode hilarious.

The movie is extremely well made, everything from the sets to the directing to the special effects works perfect. The acting is stupendous, especially from Tyler Dabine as Dale and Alan Tudyk as Tucker. It seems as if they were born for these roles.

As I said at the beginning this movie had me laughing from start to finish. Fans of horror films will no doubt recognize the source material for many of the scenes in the film. Non-horror fans will laugh at the mishaps over and over again. If you're a fan of humor or a fan of horror or a fan of them combined, then by all means you need to have this film in your collection. I'm looking forward to my fourth viewing with my nephew, a fan of both genres. My guess is I'll have to keep my finger on the remote to pause until he can catch a breath while laughing so hard.


Recommend this product? Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older