|
|
Welp (Cub) is a Belgian scouting horror, about a troupe of cub scouts who wander into the wrong part of the woods after a encounter with local rednecks runs them off what was supposed to be their campsite. And it's an imaginatively rad little debut from Jonas Govaerts.
Our protagonist is Sam; a foster kid who was forced to join the troupe so that he could learn how to cope with his personal mental issues arising from some traumatic (unspoken) past. He seems to be a good kid, but takes the brunt of the bullying from everyone accept his best friend Gries.
There's a sort of love triangle going on between the three pack leaders: Baloo, Kris & Jasmine. Both the guys are pretty douchey, but Baloo is definitely the more aggressive and douchier of the two. Even they pick on Sam, despite the fact that Jasmine tries to stick up and watch out for him.
The rest of the troupe are relatively inconsequential other than that they collectively bully Sam on a regular basis.
There's an urban legend surrounding the woods they have set up in- and even the police and rednecks are wary of wandering into the area. Word is that after the local industry went under, many suicides occurred there...a lot of negative energy surrounds the place.
There's also a tale about a man-hunting feral werewolf child named Kai, whom will come after anyone who dare enter his territory.
Not only does a feral masked man-killing child exist (though not a werewolf), but there's also a post-industrial serial killer on the loose- and they are prowling the woods together. Having set up all sorts of crazy lures and booby traps.
In fact, this film is all about these cleverly designed contraptions(with an honourable mention to the non-traditional ending that will have you going WTF!?!) The plot essentially focuses on the tension that exists between Sam and the rest of the troupe- relating to his claims that he has seen Kai out in the woods. They think he's nuts, and it just leads them to bully him more.
As a sort of "f*ck you" to the troupe, Sam goes off wandering into the woods to hunt for Kai himself.
Not only does he succeed in finding him, but they interact with one another- before Sam makes a run for it.
Little do any of them know that the adult psychopath plans on hunting them down one-by-one, starting with the townsfolk who followed the group into the woods.
This psychopath guy & feral child have fashioned themselves a WWII era style bunker and alert system through which they monitor the premises of their territory- which is replete with a variety of automated booby traps (some lethal, some strategic).
I don't want to go into the storyline too much (cause you should watch it), but the way the film is structured leaves room for a lot of interpretation and your own imaginative readings. For example, the picture he carries around with the scratched out face is never explained. But one could speculatively deduce that his aforementioned violent and traumatic past related him somehow to Kai (his brother, I was thinking)..and perhaps even to the man (as his father(?)). This would explain why he didn't just kill Sam right-off, when provided the oppourtunity.
The film has a sort of slice-of-life feel to it, because of it's abrupt ending- which leaves a few loose ends open. Like, what happens to Gries and the pack leader kid? They managed to survive it seemed. Did they escape? Was the final shot of the film alluding to the fact they were still being hunted? One can only speculate, I suppose.
In the end this an imaginatively fun film that breaks a bunch of standard taboos. It's simple, but well made...and is designed to incorporate the viewer into the experience by leaving elements open enough for us to speculate (or unlock through symbolism) about. Worth a watch for the awesome booby traps alone! 6.5 out of 10
score 6/10
meddlecore 3 October 2015
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3328326/ |
|
19-2-2021 01:06:19