American Backwoods: Slew Hampshire

aka Slew Hampshire

Director - Flood Reed (Mutual Admiration Society)

Starring - Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games), Shawn Thomas (The Remedy), and Tyler Rice (The Poor Boys)

Release Date - 2013

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Death is not the worst of evils"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     American Backwords: Slew Hampshire is a film I have been seeing a lot of people talking about the last few weeks.  The film was getting a lot of praise but I had never heard of it until this point.  I started looking around and found the film's Facebook page and learned that it went under the title Slew Hampshire until it was picked up for distribution by Midnight Releasing.  The film is one of many that claim to be based on a true story but features a rather ridiculous story that makes this claim feel silly.  I reached out to my friends over at Midnight Releasing and they were kind enough to send me a review copy.  Thanks Midnight Releasing for hooking me up.

     The film follows four men in 1994 who are driving out in the New Hampshire countryside to celebrate the birthday of one of their friends.  They find themselves pulled over by an officer who then secretly cuts their gas line.  The officer offers them a ride and dispatches a tow truck.  They climb in with the cop and tow truck driver and we discover that neither men are what they say they are.  Instead, they are part of a group who kidnap and hunt young men and if they feel like getting a little ass off them before killing them then so be it.  What they don't know is that they are not alone in the woods.  A group of men, primal in ways, are killing anyone that steps into their woods. To make matters worse, there is a creature, human in nature, is killing everyone regardless of who they are.  They all have to fight to survive the night.  

     I had no idea what Slew Hampshire was about going into it but nothing could prepare me for the fucked up ride I was about to witness.  This film really is unlike anything out there right now and quickly sets itself apart from other indie horror flicks.  The acting in this one is fucking top notch by the entire cast.  Surprisingly, my favorite performance was not by one of the main cast members but by supporting actor Mike apple who played the character Hoogeloon.  This characters was a straight parody of Epic Meal Time's Harley Morenstein and I loved it.  The remainder of the cast does a great job creating some real and intense moments but none are as fun as this character which really breaks up the atmosphere of the film.  The story for this one is fucking layered and full of action.  We have four different sets of characters are fighting each other which never leaves room for a dull moment.  It does, however, leave plenty of room for confusion because everyone is sporting a beard and looks alike at night.  A little more thought should have went into wardrobe which would have helped out a lot during the fight scenes.  Finally, the film has several gory kill scenes with some solid practical effects.  The kills are pretty brutal and they use the great practical effects to really milk as much blood as possible for the viewer.  This film was made for the gorehounds out there.  Overall, Slew Hampshire is a balls out horror film that shows little regard to human life.  The film is full of action and gore but does have a few moments that can confuse the viewer.  Check it out but pay close attention to the characters.  This is one you will want to put in your collection.