LogFAQs > #965293657

8. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (181 points)

Why I Chose It: One of the best reviewed horror parodies of all time, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil combined the slasher genre with a comedy-of-errors, to potent results. Tucker & Dale's perfect timing with the first wave of classic slasher revivals (with films like Halloween,Friday the 13th, My Blood Valentine, & A Nightmare on Elm Street) meant the film targeted the en vogue trend while ruthlessly mocking it - and with slashers still being revived today, this is a film that may never go out of style.

fortybelowsummer: 2
Johnbobb: 2
red13n: 4
BetrayedTangy: 9
Tom Nook: 9
rockus: 9
thesmark: 10
Inviso: 11
Plasmabeam: 11
Snake: 11
Lightning Strikes: 16
Suprak: 16
jcgamer107: 17
PrinceKaro: 26
FFDragon: 28

Fortybelowsummer - Its a suicide pact. These kids are comin out here and killin themselves all over the woods! Just when you thought all my top picks would be the artsier/psychological/atmospheric/whatever movies: BAM Tucker and Dale at #2. One of my favorite horror comedies, like top 2 or 3 favorite level. Its hilarious, gory, and original, but it also has a lot of heart. The bee-induced chainsaw charge, a few accidental impalements, guy diving into a woodchipper, among others, the whole thing is just super funny. T&Ds relationship is very genuine and wholesome, and I loved that they had to end up surviving against the archetypal teenage camper Chad who is also literally Chad.

Johnbobb - heh remember when snake said he didn't want to go hard on comedy horror on the horror list but then he puts the funniest goddamn horror comedy ever written on the list? good times

Red13n - Taking the generic horror film and turning it on its head, the dumb college kids are now the monsters, though they'll still get systematically killed off in mostly laughable ways. This is a fun idea and I am definitely left wondering how it ranks just for being so different from most of the list, but it definitely finds its way to at least justify fitting here. Could definitely be a tad predictable, but I think it does a good job playing itself up as a fun comedy satire of horror films.

BetrayedTangy - Of all the movies here T&D has spent the most time in my top 10 films overall; I even got a copy signed by Alan Tudyk! So yeah, Ill always have a good time watching this one. I love how at this point most people started becoming pretty jaded in terms of slasher deaths. Franchises like Saw and Final Destination thrived on finding the most brutal ways to kill characters and instead of making us horrified wed be entertained. Enter Tucker & Dale and they just turn it into a fucking comedy and I love it. I will say though despite my love for this movie, I think the reason its been falling off for me is how its only really skin deep. Dont get me wrong, the story with Dale and Allison have some nice moments, but lets be honest the real reason this gets so much praise is the subversion of tropes and comedic timing. Which is fine, weve just had an increasing number of horror-comedies as a result and it just makes this one feels a little less special, even if it did start the trend.

Tom Nook - It's nice to see a good-natured wholesome horror film from time to time. This is a fun change on the standards, swapping places with who the villains and who are the heroes are usually. Tucker and Dale are both super lovable dudes, who were excellently cast to make it all the better. While minding their own business living in the woods, a bunch of college kids come and ruin their life. Wacky antics happen as it plays with standard tropes. The movie goes for a lot of easy and obvious jokes at times, but it hardly matters with how enjoyable the leads are. I don't think it's as funny as 2002's Cabin Fever, which went wild with satire and surrealism, and I think most people still don't get that movie to this day. But this one was an easily digestible and wholesome film.

Rockus - I first saw Tucker & Dale vs. Evil a few years ago with little expectations and its dual leads in Labine and Tudyk easily won me over. What makes the film so endearing isnt just the clever lampooning of slasher tropes and biased expectations of character types but just how earnest Tucker and Dale come off. As their vacation spirals out of control with each escalating horror show and gruesome death it gets funnier and funnier having to see these sweet hearted boys go through so much. Was also just happy to see Katrina Bowden in something good other than 30 Rock. Kind of a shame her career didnt take off but I suppose she still has Ariss wealth to fall back on.

Thesmark - It sets up one premise weve seen before, college-aged douchebags in rural America being pitted against scary hillbillies in a creepy shack (and it is that from the college students perspective because of some misunderstandings), but subverts it by having it from the Hillbilliys perspective and having them be good, likable people. Its kind of one joke strung out for the entire movie, along with a romance between Dale and one of the college girls added in, but its a pretty good one and at under 90 minutes thats okay. The accidental deaths are entertaining as well. A very solid horror-comedy!

Inviso - Its weird that Tucker gets top billing, since Dale is the star and hero of the film. I mean, I suppose thats a bait and switch, but the whole concept of the movie is a bait and switch. It basically tells the story of a hillbilly horror movie from the perspective of said hillbillieswho really arent trying to kill anyone. Sure, the misunderstanding element is a bit nail on the head (or in the head, if you know what I mean), but its still amusing, and it leads to some comical subversions of horror movie tropes. The death scenes are all at least amusing in their executions, and the heart and soul of the movie (Dale and Allison being subversions of their respective archetypes) make for a fun watch. Plus, Tucker being exasperated by everything going on around him is pretty hilarious, since hes like, the most rational and level-headed person in the entire cast.

Plasmabeam - I saved Tucker & Dale for last because I thought Id hate it, but it turned out to be a complete joy. I rarely laugh out loud at horror comedies, yet this one had me rolling at least a half-dozen times.

The characters are simplistic and familiar, but the cast works well within a context of a comedy. And while much of the violence was contrived and/or luck-based, the sheer absurdity of the various kills had me in stitches. How can you not love when the firearm-ignorant college kid blows his head off while removing the revolvers safety? Or when the one guy runs into a felled tree and impales himself? Great stuff.

Hot take: Tucker & Dale does meta-horror better than Cabin in the Woods.

Snake - This movies fucking hilarious. Thats it. Thats the write-up.