|
|
"Welp" is a first time feature for a much more than just 'promising' new filmmaker; a guy with arguably a knack for delivering a seriously nasty and unpredictable storyline.
Set in a wooded area in Belgium, this starts out as your typical kid in peril camp movie. The dark tone gets set right away as we are introduced to two somewhat irresponsible scout leaders who tell their young charges in advance that a 'werewolf boy' is probably lurking where they are about to go camping for a few days.
So much for the set-up. OK, we get it. There WILL be something lurking in those woods. After all, It's a horror movie with poster artwork resembling a cross between "Babadook" and "Blair Witch Project," so we KNOW for sure that something is 'out there' in those woods.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The film takes very little time in introducing a boy named Sam to at least 'one' of the 'things' that lurk in the woods.
We realize right away that Sam is a troubled and misunderstood boy who probably wasn't a welcome addition to the troop in the first place. He is bullied by most of the boys, but it's the assistant scoutmaster who seems to loathe the child, often belittling and emotionally torturing him in front of the other scouts, whom all but one seem to relish the taunting of this youngster. This graphic child / adult bullying element alone creates a genuinely unpleasant atmosphere, and the horror hasn't even begun.
"Welp" starts to go 'for the throat' at about the half-way point, and I found myself leaning forward in my chair with my stomach in knots as things start to get really ugly; not to mention genuinely, unpredictably, viciously mean. Most viewers will not expect or be able to stomach at least two sequences that come before the final act.
It's fair to say that you'll feel like your face just got slapped by a grinning filmmaker who can't resist feeling proud of the fact that he just disintegrated our nerves as well as catapulting us out of our comfort zones.
Just when you think that the story is winding up, something completely and even more unexpected unravels in front of us. I suppose some people will find this final twist, brutal and unnecessary. I found it to be so unexpected and dark-natured, that I could do nothing 'but' smile as the credits crawled, simply because I had just experienced a cool and refreshingly dark horror movie that didn't care what emotions it shatters in the process of watching.
To sum up "Welp" aka: "Cub," some will find my review far too positive, and that's OK. I think I know a good horror movie when I see it, and "Welp" is THAT rare horror movie that delivers everything it promises. Unconventional in every sense of the word, "Welp" features excellent, convincing performances from the young and older cast, superb lighting and cinematography, an effective score that recalls the early works of Goblin and well-executed gore that doesn't seem excessive.
One thing I want to make clear: "Welp" is not scary; not one bit. But perhaps that's exactly what was intended. After all, if you're going to make a horror movie that defies conventionality, go for unexpected gut-punches and twists over a creepy atmosphere and jolts, and that's EXACTLY what "Welp" does!
"Welp" or "Cub" or whatever the title becomes in your neck of the woods ... is nothing short of a genuinely horrific masterpiece.
score 10/10
closerlookfilms 23 March 2015
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3211359/ |
|
19-2-2021 01:06:16