Movie Review: Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

The movie stars Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Philip Granger and Jesse Moss.

My wife (who didn't get much sleep the night before because she had to work) wasn't feeling the greatest last night and ended up going to bed early. As a result, instead of watching "The Walking Dead," I recorded that show so her and I could watch it together and searched for a movie. When I saw Netflix had this film again, I just had to take the time to watch it.

This is a movie I came across some time ago and, despite having doubts about it, ended up watching it with my wife. It immediately became one of my favorite movies and, including last night, I have now seen it several times. And, the movie gets funnier each time I watch it.

I think the thing I love about this movie is just how clueless Tucker (Tudyk) and Dale (Labine) are throughout. They don't seem to notice how people are nervous around them (thinking, of course, they are a pair of hillbilly cannibals) and, because of that, how their perfectly innocent actions, such as loading an unconscious woman (Bowden) onto their boat might be misconstrued. In fact, when the college kids begin dying on their property, their first assumption is it is some sort of sick suicide pact and they are trying to kill the girl they just saved.

Another thing I love about this movie is how some of the scenes seem to pop up out of nowhere, such as when Tucker is using a chainsaw on a tree, hits a beehive and, as he's running from the bees, does so in a way that makes him look like someone out of a horror movie. That, combined with scenes that include a wood chipper, make it easy to see how someone might get the wrong idea, including the local sheriff (Granger).

One thing that always impressed me about this movie is, because of how it is written, it isn't anywhere near as predictable as I thought it would be and the various twists and turns keep it entertaining from start to finish. A lot of movies fail to do this so it is refreshing when a film executes it so well.

This is a surprisingly good comedy that has me laughing every time I take the time to watch it. If you haven't seen this film, you are missing something good.

My Grade: A