Pitfall ( Blu ray review )

When you think about redneck states across America you have to include Alabama on your list. You should probably add states such as West Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky as well. That´s where you see them MAGA pickup trucks driving everywhere with MAGA flags, where you marry your cousin instead of going on dating night at church or your local bingo hall. Life is simple in redneck country, just drink that peach cobbler moonshine, sit on the porch looking at cars passing by while listening to the country albums of artist Jason Aldean. If you never heard of country artist Jason Aldean, you did not miss that much honestly. The only single i can remember is his hit single Try That In A Small Town just because it did so well in America, and also did pretty well in the United Kingdom for some reason. I actually like small towns so this is nothing against the subject of a smaller town, it´s just that the lyrics of this song is so politically focused that it becomes annoying to me. If you are going to make a song about a smaller town, make a positive song instead. Speaking about redneck people, we have seen so many different kinds of movies especially including small town folks living in poverty, or is simply bat shit crazy rednecks. A perfect example of this is the 2003 slasher horror film Wrong Turn from director Rob Schmidt. The plot is very basic, a group of college students travelling through West Virginia, becomes victims of cannibal inbred rednecks who loves some fresh human meat. That is pretty much it when it comes to the plot, but it´s still a fun horror slasher movie with some really brutal kills. The inbred redneck characters are actually funny to watch, even if they are really distrurbing individuals. The first film did well enough so this became a whole franchise of 7 movies ( if you count in the 2021 remake ). I can accept the first film and the two sequels, i can even accept the 2021 remake as well. But from Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings it just went downhill from there. They should have ended the sequels right after the third film. The first film is definetely worth a watch though if you have not seen it, especially if you love slasher horror films with some brutal killing scenes. Speaking of slasher horror films in the forest, i recently picked up a physical blu ray copy from the UK of the survival slasher horror film Pitfall, from director James Kondelik ( one of the director´s of the 2014 Dean Cain´s cult classic Airplane vs. Volcano, which he directed with his twin brother Jon Kondelik ). Since i am a fan of this genre and also wanted to see actor Randy Couture ( from The Expendables franchise ) in a horror film, is this worth picking up on physical media or should you go for the original Wrong Turn movie instead?

Scott ( Marshall Williams ) and his sister Ashley ( Alexandra Essoe ) decide to camp together out in a forest area, where Scott and Ashley lost their parents 5 years ago in a horrible car accident. They travel together with friends and partners, so especially Ashley can deal with her PTSD. Ashley is struggling being out here again, but decide to deal with it rather than hide at home. What they don´t know is that there is a serial killer out there known as Hunter ( Randy Couture ), who have set up pitfall traps to capture anything that´s alive.

While i was watching Pitfall i started to think about if i have ever seen a horror film where you have pitfall traps included, i can´t think of one single film where i have seen that before. At least not where they are a very important part of the film, so that makes Pitfall a bit of an original slasher horror film for trying a different path. How could i describe this film without giving away too much plot, imagine this film to be the serial killer version of Wrong Turn but without deformed rednecks. That´s probably one easy way to describe the plot, and if Pitfall would have been just another serial killer film this could have been a boring watch. Thankfully, thanks to the pitfalls across the forest plus some fun traps, this makes the serial killer story more fascinating. Because when it comes to serial killers, we have seen so many films that looks exactly the same and i appreciate the effort with this film. When it comes to the serial killer himself only known as Hunter ( played by former UFC fighter Randy Couture ), i think this is a great character in a film such as this. Doesn´t really talk, just set up traps to kill whatever he can get his hands on plus kill victims by hand as well, or by using certain weapons. Another very important part of the film is how brother Scott and his sister Ashley lost both of their parents in a car accident, dealing with PTSD. Especially the sister Ashely played well by actress Alexandra Essoe ( who i recognized from the 2019 psychological horror film Doctor Sleep, worth a watch ). I think Alexandra capture a realistic portrait of how someone can struggle with PTSD and staying sober, where everyday feels like a nightmare and you do your best to deal with life. This film is really brutal and you can tell they are using practical make up effects, and i really appreciate how violent this film is which makes the serial killer scenes more fun to watch. I think Pitfall looks good in general and the forest scenes do capture some creepy moments in the dark, knowing someone is out there to get you. So anything negative to say? Not really, i could probably mention a few minor details but in general i enjoyed this slasher horror film. If you just want lots of blood, killer scenes with practical make up effects and a cool looking serial killer then this should work for you. Pitfall is a film that´s definetely for fans of the Wrong Turn franchise or similar films, and i can tell director James Kondelik must have had fun making this film considering how brutal the most gory scenes are. Worth picking up on physical media if you want to add something tasteful to your slasher horror collection.

Rating: DDD