Hello again, ghosts and ghouls! I’m back with another review for a new film taking place in the woods of Wisconsin, BLACK CREEK.
I’ve really been discouraged with horror films as of late – it feels like every time someone has an original idea, the execution isn’t there, and every time the film itself looks and feels good and professional and well done, the idea is completely mediocre or just ripped from another film. BLACK CREEK is no exception to this.
A brother and sister take a trip up to their deceased father’s cabin to spread his ashes, but while they’re there, they encounter an ancient evil that lives in the woods. The town surrounding the cabin is hiding a secret, and they know all about what’s going on. It sounds like every story that takes place in the woods, right?
This film, first of all, is one of the worst-written films I’ve ever watched. I’ve watched a lot of films over the course of my life, and this is probably in my top 5 worst. The script and directing are so badly written that I actually had second-hand embarrassment watching the actors carry out the script and blocking and actions that were written into this script. I’ll give you a little sample…”it’s just some kids looking for a one-way road to sex”. WHAT?
That was another element that was terribly awful…the acting. One of the biggest distractions I noticed was the fact that this film took place in Wisconsin, but some actors spoke with a southern accent, some British, some a combination of the two, and there were only about 10 characters in the film so it was hard to decipher exactly where the film was supposed to be taking place. From there, it was just genuine “I’m reading off of a script” and nothing more. There was no feeling and no talent behind this, and I don’t know if it’s a fault of the actors, the script, or both. You don’t connect to these characters, you don’t care about their stories, the teens are all typical horror film teens having sex on the balcony and being obnoxious, and they had them in the most stereotypical clique costumes. Emo kid, hippie, it was very high school and amateur. Each character didn’t play their “clique” well, and again, was it the acting, the script, or both? It was just overall a real disappointment; had the cast been good, it might have made up for the writing.
The story itself is like watching Evil Dead (2013) but without the quality. The story isn’t much different – haunted woods, possess people and those people kill their friends. It was familiar when the film started and the longer it went on, the more I was able to pick out elements of other haunted wood films, but what really stuck out to me was how similar this was to the more recent Evil Dead film. Minus the gore and decent acting. It felt so underwhelming and familiar that it made it boring to watch. I won’t even lie to you, I fell asleep. Twice. It was 8 pm.
With that being said, BLACK CREEK fell very, very flat. Right on its face. I can’t even say watch this film if you’re looking for a bad horror film to watch because it really doesn’t deserve that. From beginning to end, it’s unoriginal, boring, badly done, and has zero redeeming qualities. I will go out of my way to never watch this film again, and if you do watch this film, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Ugh.
BLACK CREEK hits VOD nationwide Friday, February 16th
- [Slamdance Review] MAJNUNI - January 26, 2020
- Panic Fest Short Film Review: BROWN FISH (2017) - February 4, 2019
- Short Film Review: GOOD GIRL (2018) - December 26, 2018