Movie Review: Black Creek Slightly Suffers From Cliche and Amateur Acting.

February 12, 2018

Written by DanXIII

Daniel XIII; the result of an arcane ritual involving a King Diamond album, a box of Count Chocula, and a copy of Swank magazine, is a screenwriter, director, producer, actor, artist, and reviewer of fright flicks…Who hates ya baby?

Black Creek begins with a number of disparate (yet oddly connected) story lines including; a missing girl going Satan-eyed and offing and/or possessing some teenage deer hunters, a gaggle of high schoolers doing that tried and true ‘teen partying’ at their emo pal Mike’s (who is a P.H. Native American…trust me, that will be important later) murder house (hey, just because folks died there years previous doesn’t mean you can’t go B.D. into the hot tub), and a young couple gettin’ their horny on in the woods…woods decked out in dream catchers…but wait my creeps, the plot sickens…
Before long our hot tub lovin’ youths head out to that ol’ hoary chestnut, ‘the cabin in the woods’, to lay emo dude’s father’s ashes to rest…and drink…mostly drink…and fuck…and emo it up…I don’t know…aaaand bad dreams and possession by evil Native American spirits ensue! Can Mike come to grips with his heritage and the loss of his father and save his friends? I’d guess “No”, but you’ll have to watch and see if the film proves me wrong…
Like the last flick from writer/director James Crow I reviewed (House of Salem), Black Creek features some great cinematography and imagery, not to mention some interesting mythology and world building (the concept of body hopping “Skin Walkers” was fun, as was the Native American angle of which that was a part, that while a bit of a well trod trope seemed fresh in this setting). Additionally, I enjoyed the score to the film (provided by Pete Coleman) that was equal parts ethereal ambient and BBC ’70’s sci-fi program soundtrack, mixed with a hint of John Carpenter. Also of note, I applaud Crow for taking a more Young Adult spin on the traditional Evil Dead formula, even if it didn’t 100% work for me…which brings us to the negative portion of our revoltin’ review…
While trying to do something new with a beloved cliche of our horror biz, Black Creek loses it’s way a bit…motifs are over stated, and scenes tend to run long, and the cast, while game, is a bit on the green side (though I did enjoy Brianna Shae’s portrayal of Mike’s put upon sister Heather) and that creates a disconnect between the audience and the picture. This makes for a finished film that seems to drag even at a brief hour and nineteen minute run time.
All in all, Black Creek is a serviceable entry in the ‘bad demonic shit goes down in the cabin in the woods’ genre, though I fear that the amateurish elements of the production may turn some viewers off.
 

 


 
For more on Black Creek from Horror Fuel head here and here!
 
 

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