Wuchak RELEASED TO VIDEO IN 2007 and directed/written by Donn Kennedy, "Backwoods Bloodbath" (subtitled "The Curse of the Black Hodag") chronicles events when six college youths from Milwaukee take a Fall vacation to the Black Forest in Oneida County, Northern Wisconsin, but are unaware that the area's cursed by a half-human, half-creature called the Hodag.This is an independent slasher flick in the mold of the Friday the 13th sequels, but hampered by a budget of somewhere around $10,000-$50,000 and the typical problems that come with micro-budget fare: bad acting, sometimes bad sound, hand-held cameras, dubious editing, etc. However, if you can handle these kinds of limitations and roll with it rather than against it, "Backwoods Bloodbath" delivers the goods in several respects. For one, the movie has a sense of humor and I busted out laughing several times (e.g. "You guys aren't FIBs?" and the following textual note).Secondly, the movie delivers with a few quality females, starting with the barn brunette in the prologue and, about 25 minutes later, a tent-camping girl in red bikini-shorts, which is just a cameo. The main protagonist, Jessica, is pretty decent as well. Personally, I could do without the flashes of nudity though.Thirdly, there's a lot of fairly convincing gore; and sometimes so much that it's laughable (not that I'm into gore, I'm just pointing out that it's done very well for a no-budget flick). Fourthly, the script throws in a surprise in the last act, which I won't give away. Fifthly, there are several quality cuts on the soundtrack by presumably local artists, like "Whiskey Morning" by 8 Hours of Violence (see the "Soundtracks" credits on IMDb for more info).Sixth, the director/writer knows how to make a movie, as far as camera angles, editing, music, flow, etc. go. Sure, you can harp on this or that (which is easy to do with a no-budget flick), but the movie accomplishes its goal, it's entertaining and entertainment is the name of the game. For comparison, my wife & I saw a no-budget horror flick recently that cost less than $10,000 and it totally siphoned from beginning to end, lacking all the six positives noted above (!).On the downside (beyond the typical issues with these kinds of independent productions), the movie's overlong by about ten minutes, with a useless epilogue/montage tacked on, there's too much juvenile crudity (although some of it's amusing) and the second half doesn't generate enough suspense. Nevertheless, if you don't mind independent flicks with miniscule non-budgets, "Backwoods Bloodbath" is worth checking out for the highlights noted above.THE MOVIE RUNS 89 minutes and was shot in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, with additional stuff done in Brookfield and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.GRADE: C- (but C+/B- for overall entertainment value)

Woodyanders Here we go again: Six college kids -- nerdy shutterbug, hardcore jock, obnoxious jerk, token black dude, slutty hot babe, and the nice girl -- venture into a remote woodland area in Wisconsin for the weekend. Naturally, the young adults run afoul of a vicious flesh-eating local legend humanoid freak known as the Black Hodag (Seth Chilsen sporting long greasy hair, a huge overcoat, and a cheapo monster mask). Director Donn Kennedy, who also co-wrote the leave no-cliché-unturned script with Brandon Semling, does his best to compensate for the lack of scares and creepy mood by pouring on the blood-spilling gore by the gallon -- the red stuff squirts and spurts everywhere while one victim even gets split in half -- and playing up the amusingly irreverent humor to the ninth degree (the stock array of belligerent redneck stereotypes are quite funny). Moreover, there's a decent smattering of tasty female nudity, a strong rural atmosphere, and the pace moves along at a reasonably quick clip. The acting by the non-star cast is very hit or miss, with the best work done by Angela Lowe as the sweet Becky and Jesse L. Cyr as the geeky Mark. However, Erin Castrapeli's murky cinematography and the largely unsympathetic characters prevent this film from being a complete success. Still, there's one particular plot twist that's truly surprising and the movie's overall eager to please attitude makes it entertaining enough.

Albert Muick ....is what this film says in its best Marlon Brando voice. Unfortunately for the film and any unsuspecting viewer, it just never quite makes it into the ring.First off, let's talk about the beastie that is supposed to be the star of the show: the Black Hodag. Originally a mythical creature from around the city of Rhinelander in northern Wisconsin in the US (look it up!), our film version is, shall we say, quite the literary license! This thing stands upright on two combat boot-clad feet with a leather jacket, spiked gloves and an apparently spiked mask. It lays a single egg (forget how many years apart) in order to perpetuate the species.Now, our preternatural badass goes around ripping up a little town, chewing up and spitting out the residents because they had the temerity to honk it off back in the 1800s. With me so far? Enter the college kids, on a trip to a remote locale to get away from it all and deal with the grief of having a friend fall off of a balcony and kill himself. They even invite one of the people they messed with all through his life (and expect all to be forgiven). As the townspeople begin to be shredded and disappear, and a mysterious stench that would knock a buzzard off a honey-wagon begins to spread through the town, the college kids attempt to party they way through their grief. Too bad for them, because the creature doesn't differentiate between townsfolk and visitors. Not only that, but one of them has a plot of their own, adding to the general confusion and mêlée. 'Nuff said about the plot, which is rather weak.The acting is so wooden and stilted in parts, that it's a blessing when there is action without any talking. There is plenty of viscera and gore, mostly filmed through a color filter so the budget doesn't show so badly. It's interesting to note, that most of the actors did nothing before this and nothing after this and those that did wisely chose to change their career path to something more appropriate, like boom operator! There are some innovative dispatches of victims, and even a few comical moments as well as an occasional flash of tit.With a budget and a more believable monster, this film really might have gone somewhere. As it stands, I'm giving it four stars for effort and because there really was some thought that went into it. Don't rent this, but if it happens to come on cable or you can con your drunk buddy into renting it, it's worth a watch.

trashgang I was advised to have a view on this low budget independent and so I did. Just let me say that the acting is sometimes not convincing and the storyline isn't that good too. For example, when you get a scythe in your body, better say, chest you won't be smoking or drinking at all after wards. But here it happens, sadly. Or when Jessica runs into the death bodies of her friends she doesn't give any scream or isn't even bothered. When one screams to be killed, that's bad acting too but what makes this flick worth watching is the gory scene's. Okay, you will see a lot of blood but also severed limbs or crushed heads. And let that be the fact why this flick is worth watching. There are two shots that are a bit weird, two times the director just let us see some breasts, not that I mind but it was so weird, they are going to make love and you see them undress and suddenly one close up of a tittie. It's nice but could have been done into the scene, it's just an insert of it. Anyhow, I haven't seen any shadows from sound or whatsoever so that's okay. If you are in for a bloody low budget than i would surely recommend this flick. Just go for the gore and not for the acting...