While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this film to a lot of people, I would recommend it to the avid horror fanatic who can appreciate a slow-moving melodrama with dark, mystical undertones and whatnot. However, just remember, this film starts off sloooow. And it pretty much stays that way for the majority of the picture. The film is very well thought out and thoroughly well-written. Larry Fessenden seems to have executed his ideas perfectly in his eyes, and it seems like he took his time get it right, and that's fine with me. There is a psychological aspect to the whole thing, but I wouldn't really say it is a psychological thriller or whatever you would call it, I would just call it horror interspersed with drama.
The typical Bigfoot geek might walk away from this endeavor disappointed, this isn't your 70's style camp classic we have here. However, they might walk away feeling good about this one as well, like I did, if they can appreciate some solid filmmaking. It starts off with our broken family trying to spend some quality time together kind of thing for a good 45 minutes of the film a la 'The Shining', and won't really satisfy the horror fan until the second half of the film really. The film is sloooowww, like I said. Patricia Clarkson and Jake Weber's characters are both very well-written. John Speredakos plays his role naturally well, although I had never heard of him until this film. The dialogue is well written, and the most unimportant lines will end up meaningful in the end. The climax of the film is truly the most impressive, and by the end, 'Wendigo' manages to work up a bit of creepiness. The images are nice, lots of dead sticks and s**t. If you're looking for some ridiculously bloody slasher type flick, look elsewhere because that isn't what you'll be getting from this one. The legend of the 'Wendigo' isn't really discussed a whole lot, and someone seeking a ton of information of the folklore of this myth and other Indian myths should probably look elsewhere also, but if you can handle a well-made, unconventional, and original horror story then this could be for you. But be weary if you look to this hoping for it to be 'Urban Legend' or something.
WENDIGO -----7/10.
The typical Bigfoot geek might walk away from this endeavor disappointed, this isn't your 70's style camp classic we have here. However, they might walk away feeling good about this one as well, like I did, if they can appreciate some solid filmmaking. It starts off with our broken family trying to spend some quality time together kind of thing for a good 45 minutes of the film a la 'The Shining', and won't really satisfy the horror fan until the second half of the film really. The film is sloooowww, like I said. Patricia Clarkson and Jake Weber's characters are both very well-written. John Speredakos plays his role naturally well, although I had never heard of him until this film. The dialogue is well written, and the most unimportant lines will end up meaningful in the end. The climax of the film is truly the most impressive, and by the end, 'Wendigo' manages to work up a bit of creepiness. The images are nice, lots of dead sticks and s**t. If you're looking for some ridiculously bloody slasher type flick, look elsewhere because that isn't what you'll be getting from this one. The legend of the 'Wendigo' isn't really discussed a whole lot, and someone seeking a ton of information of the folklore of this myth and other Indian myths should probably look elsewhere also, but if you can handle a well-made, unconventional, and original horror story then this could be for you. But be weary if you look to this hoping for it to be 'Urban Legend' or something.
WENDIGO -----7/10.