Tucker & Dale vs Evil - DVD

Movie: A group of teens encounter a horde of bloodthirsty hillbillies somewhere in the American wasteland. This story has been told countless times in the slasher genre. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil nevertheless manages to wring entirely new sides out of this overused plot framework.

When the clique of self-absorbed Chad (Jesse Moss) and attractive Allison (Katrina Bowden) head off to the woods for a weekend of partying, they cross paths with hillbillies Tucker McGee (Alan Tudyk) and Dale Dobson (Tyler Labine). Immediately, all the hillbilly clichés grown from consuming countless horror movies come to mind in the teens and they quickly begin to fear for their lives. What they don't suspect: Tucker and Dale couldn't be more adorable and want nothing more than to spruce up their newly acquired weekend cabin in the woods. But when a mishap lands Allison in their hands and any attempt to contact their friends is misinterpreted by them as a murderous threat, things begin to escalate and the peaceful weekend getaway turns into a bloody nightmare.

To cut right to the chase: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is the best horror comedy since Shaun of the Dead. It's not often that a genre's clichés are juggled so inventively, relentlessly, and lovingly at the same time as they are here. The many absurd ideas of debut director Eli Craig, who also wrote the screenplay, make this slasher comedy so worth seeing. The bizarre accidents, through which the ranks of the teenagers thinning, should of course not be revealed here. Only this much: rarely have brutality and slapstick been mixed together as entertainingly as they are here.

However, as wonderful as Craig's script may be, without the two superbly chosen leading actors the macabre action would only be half as amusing. Alan Tudyk (Serenity, Knights of Passion) and Tyler Labine (Reaper) harmonize beautifully together, and after only a few minutes of screen presence, manage to prove themselves the most likable on-screen duo in recent memory. Katrina Bowden, who is part of the ensemble cast of the award-winning comedy series 30 Rock, plays perfectly with the naïve blonde stereotypes, making her at once a stark contrast and the perfect complement to the two men.

Who likes horror movies will love Tucker & Dale vs. Evil - provided, of course, you don't take the genre itself too seriously and can also laugh at inherently endearing clichés. But even those who otherwise can hardly make friends with bloodthirsty battle plates a la Friday the 13th, here are almost 90 minutes of the best cinema entertainment guaranteed. A film with cult potential and therefore also: absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the implementation of the horror comedy for home cinema is on a consistently good level. The picture is clean and has a decent image sharpness, which only has weaknesses in the one or other detail. The sound provides the right atmosphere with some purposefully used surround effects, but otherwise remains rather discreet and dominated by the front-heavy mixed dialogue. Overall, this gets a: Good!

Extras: As a bonus, in addition to the trailer for the film, there is also a nearly 11-minute making of, which, however, has too high a promo character to really offer a good insight into the making of the film. It's a shame there aren't more extras here, as it would have been nice to see more of Tucker & Dale.

Conclusion: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a wonderful horror comedy that provides extremely good laughs thanks to many clever ideas and a great acting duo. The DVD offers the film in good picture and sound quality, only the short making of is a bit meager as a bonus. Nevertheless, applies here: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp