Never Hike Alone (2017) Review

 

Never Hike Alone (2017)

My good friend Corey Carvelli recommended this to me tonight, as it was free in it’s entirety on Youtube, and being an amateur filmmaker, I had to check this out.

Never Hike Alone is about Kyle Mcleod, a hiker, who while out in the wilderness stumbles upon Camp Crystal Lake and a bit more than he bargained for.

So, for starters: WOAH! This was a fan film made on a budget of $40k, which was crowd sourced. Produced by Womp Stomp Films, it faithfully went through and brought us back to Camp Crystal Lake for a riveting and exciting return to the Friday the 13th series. They nailed the lore and mysticism that surrounds the area and even went as far as to mark all of the spots where the original counselors died at the hands of Pamela Vorhees in the original. I loved getting to see all of the references to previous films and tropes littered throughout, while still doing their own thing.

The makeup and special effects are really impressive and all practical, making for something that isn’t corny or over the top like later entries in the series. It’s just really well made, with everything coming together beautifully, along with an original, toned down, and coherent story. It was simple and frankly, one of the better stories we’ve seen from Friday the 13th in many years.

The acting is really well done as well, with writer and director Vincent DiSanti perfectly embodying Jason Vorhees, who looks badass by the way! Drew Leighty also kills it, playing against the lame, victim, character archetype and actually tries to fight back against Jason, though unsuccessful. The biggest surprise though was Thom Matthews return as Tommy freakin Jarvis from Jason Lives, which was incredible to see!

The camera shots where gorgeous, using a neat system between switching from cinematic to handheld, which reminded me a lot of The Blair Witch Project.

All in all, this was a shockingly amazing film, with an eerily great score and one of the most original and best Friday the 13th Stories we’ve seen in years, from fans, for the fans. I love it!
(Check it out on Youtube)

8/10