Dead Shack (2017)

Viewed On: Shudder

 

Ah, the classic setup.

Following a long tradition of horror films, Dead Shack is a coming of age horror comedy set in a series of shacks deep in the Canadian wilderness. Dead Shack takes our heroes, a family of working class Canadians and one of their friends, on a weekend vacation to a mysterious cabin in the woods that they’ve rented. On the drive up there characters are quickly established: the first we meet is Jason, a mild mannered and often teased softie; Colin, a foulmouthed and vulgar jokester: and Summer, Colin’s sister who doesn’t like Colin’s sense of humor or her father’s new girlfriend.

 

When they arrive at their vacation destination they quickly learn that, shockingly, a cabin in the woods isn’t the safest place to be when your nearest neighbor has a house full of zombies.

This setup is pretty classic: the  group of young teens find themselves isolated when their family gets attacked by a group of villains who want blood (and guts and other things zombies eat) and then the teenagers have to step up and  protect themselves and their loved ones.

 

Horror and Comedy in harmony.

What was initially interesting about this film is that it isn’t strictly a horror film, it plays more as a horror/comedy, which works well during the beginning as most of the jokes work and are used to establish characters. The movie does get some big points for featuring a character who is one of those typical “dirty humor” characters but also actually explaining why his sense of humor is so juvenile by showing that he gets his sense of humor from his father who tells very similar jokes. What makes the humor work so well is the genuine chemistry that the actors all have with each other, it feels like the jokes and gags are just things that these people would be saying to each other and that helps the humor land, even if not every joke is a winner.

 

One of the best things about the humor in the first act is how well it contrasts with the horror. We learn very early on that bad things are happening in the woods and this juxtaposition of horror and, well, I wouldn’t call the comedy heartwarming but maybe just good natured ribbing, strongly contrast, making the horror seem more serious and the comedy seem funnier and more lighthearted.

 

Build up and drop off.

In general the first act is quite good, it sets up who the characters are and their relationships with the other characters quickly and cleanly without a ton of exposition while at the same time establishing what the characters will be struggling against.

 

The main characters are all sympathetic and understandable and that is due in large part to their solid, natural performances and the comedic chemistry that the group has. I was so taken with the first act that I hadn’t noticed that it takes up 40 minutes of the film.

 

Once the second act starts the pacing of the film increases considerably and sequences that should have some time to breathe and naturally play out begin to feel rushed. A rapid fire sequence of scenes play out where the kids try to warn the adults about the diabolical neighbor and things escalate and there isn’t anything wrong with this setup but the way it plays out is a bit jarring considering that the movie, smartly, took its sweet time to establish everything and everyone in the first 40 minutes.

 

I haven’t discussed the runtime of the movie yet so now is probably a good time to mention that the movie is 80 minutes long, including opening and closing credits, and we have spent 40ish minutes setting up all the characters and the plot. This leaves about 35 minutes to resolve the entire plot which results in most of those scenes feeling too fast and not having the weight that they could have had if the movie slowed down a bit.

 

Confusing Character Arcs.

Another unfortunate change which occurs about halfway through is that the scenes of horror and comedy merge as the characters interact more and this causes some strange tonal issues. The comedic tone of previous sequences continues even as the plot of the movie starts ramping up and becoming more serious and intense, creating sequences where characters are in mortal peril and trying to accomplish important goals but then they’re joking and not really taking the predicaments seriously.

 

This could have worked if it built up to some greater twist, and for a few moments towards the end of the movie it seemed like that was the way things were going, but nothing solid in that vein ever materializes. A lot of plot points in the movie have that same kind of feeling where they are established but never go anywhere. It is teased several times by Colin that Jason has a crush on Summer but this never gets resolved; Jason brings up secrets that he has about his family life but they never get resolved. It never gets frustrating but it leaves a general sense of wanting more from the movie than it has to offer.

 

Fun but not quite satisfying.

 

There are worse things than movies that leave you wanting more, though. The first half of this movie features a great deal of quality indie filmmaking that leaves me curious and excited for the director’s next movie. Even if the second half of the film is a bit lacking there is more than enough quality build up and fun character moments in the first half to warrant a recommendation.