Now this is a movie that I saw at Nightmares Film Festival. It doesn't fall into horror, but I still wanted to write up a review. I should preface that this isn't normally a movie that I'd be into. Watching this with a crowd though as the day neared midnight was a fun experience. The antics in the theater from co-writer/star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, adds to it as well. I should also include; this was the Ohio premiere.
For this movie, we have Jean Kayak (Tews) who has an orchid and he makes hard apple cider. He is a drunkard who just likes to have fun. One day, beavers come along and ruin one of his large barrels that hold his cider. This causes everything to fall apart and it is now winter. Jean isn't lucky in catching food and is struggling to survive.
Jean then gets into fur trading. He watches a bearded man make a killing. So much so that the guy running the post, Doug Mancheski, wants him to marry his daughter who is the furrier, Olivia Graves. Jean has an uphill battle to become a trapper and this will bring him head-to-head with beavers in the area. They have created an epic dam that is holding much more inside.
So, I was a bit familiar with what I'd get here after seeing a previous film from Tews called Lake Michigan Monster. This is in a similar vein. There is CGI and animation for the backgrounds. These techniques are also used with character movements and just bringing this to life in general. This takes a lot of time and I'm impressed there. What helps is that we don't get much in the way of dialogue. This is presented like a silent film at times, we even get title cards. It also reminds me of cartoons where our characters didn't talk. This looks cheap, but what goes into is much harder than it seems.
Going along with this idea, they tell a narrative story without using a lot of dialogue. Things we see do get repetitive. I'll admit that as we neared the end, I was exhausted and ready to head home. I don't want to detract from this though, staying awake the closer we get to midnight gets harder each day. I will say though. This movie is made for a theater experience or to have people over for drinks and just enjoy your time with it.
I can see people hating this. I'm telling you as someone who loves serious and bleak movies, this is a pallet cleanser that if you just roll with it, it's a great time. I didn't even mention that all the animals are just people in costumes. That makes it even better with the antics that we're seeing. If you get the chance to see this in the settings that I said, jump on this one for sure.
My Rating: 6 out of 10.
