Wendigo
Directed by Larry Fessenden
When George and Kim arrive at their cabin, they soon find that a dark and intimidating presence seems to have taken over the cottage. After a shopkeeper tells Miles about the legend of the Wendigo, a beast from Native Peoples folklore who is half-man, half-deer, and can change itself at will, the child begins to wonder if the creature might have something to do with his family's sudden misfortune.
When George and Kim arrive at their cabin, they soon find that a dark and intimidating presence seems to have taken over the cottage.
Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan
Member Reviews
No fitting resolution for the major characters at the film's end. Shudder should just swap this one out with Antlers.
Damn, Dewey really went through it.
This film may not be perfect but it deserves more skulls. The write-up for it is incorrect, incidentally. I have watched way more slow burn, and way more just plain boring films on Shudder than this, that got high praise. The acting was excellent from everyone. I liked that this was NOT like Deliverance and most of the "rednecks" were reasonable, regular people; likewise the "city folk" were not fish-out-of-water stereotypes. As for the Wendigo and the ending, maybe people don't like it because the Wendigo IS an evil spirit, not just angry: all the lore is pretty gruesome. So a Wendigo given as a protective totem (trying not to spoil it), while it makes a good story, isn't really the right spirit to use here. They do possess humans, though, so maybe that was what was really wrong with Otis the whole time.
First of all, the write-up by Shudder is incorrect. Way less of a slow burn than a lot of films I have seen great reviews for. If you don't like the ending, it may be because the Wendigo was depicted as vengeful, even a protective gift given to Miles in the form of the small totem. While I loved that, that isn't, as far as I know, what Wendigoes do; they are bad guys. They do, however, possess humans (is that what Otis'problem really is?) It was cool to me thst not all the "rednecks" were like Otis (think Deliverance) and the city "folk" didn't spend three quarters of the movie being fish-out-of-water stereotypes either. Not a bad acting job in the entire cast. This may not be perfect, but it deserves way more skuuls than it's getting.
Strange, intense and suspenseful in every minute!