User Reviews

This film based on Ojibwa (chippewa) and Algonquin Native American Legends.

I had expected this film to center mostly around this but it was only a small part of the plot.

The Wendigo, Windigo, or Windago is a spirit that comes with the wind. It would entice persons by calling to them in an irresistable way. It then would drag its victims along at great speeds until they burn up.

This film mostly centers around a family that vacations un upstate New York during winter and have an unpleasant run in with some local hunters. This film has some excellent cinematography and special camera angles. There is much time-lapse photography and one part with the now-famous "time slice" photography better known as "bullet time" which was made famous in "The Matrix (1999)"

It is an unusual film and I could describe it as a combination of Blair Witch, Sixth Sense, Abominable Snowman.

Larry Fessenden is an independent director who has focused his career in making horror movies with philosophical and existential subtexts. Despite his sparse production (four movies in 16 years), his original approach to the genre and the quality of his work has given him recognition and praise in festivals and in the independent scene. "Wendigo", the third of his horror-themed films is probably the weakest of them, but it has many of the unique characteristics of Fessenden's film-making that make it stand out among the genre.

A young family of three heads to upstate New York hoping to spend a time relaxing hoping to relieve from the stress from the city. However, they find problems as they find an angry local named Otis (John Speredakos) who is not very happy with having them as neighbors. His strong and intimidating presence serves as catalyst for the family's inner conflicts and fears, specially those of little Miles (Erik Per Sullivan), whose feelings of loneliness are increased due to the fear Otis creates in him. As he learns about the legend of the Wendigo, Miles will learn to face the harsh world that is out there.

Very loosely based on the Anishinaabe legend of the Wendigo, the movie is a haunting drama mixed with horror that perfectly combines a lucid visual style with a clever storyline. Told from Miles' point of view, the film is genuinely creepy and the snowy landscapes together with the feeling of isolation Miles feels increase the haunting atmosphere of the film. Basing its scares on mood and atmosphere makes the film a rare species among modern horror movies, and the excellent camera-work makes the film look a lot better than other low-budget independent films.

Fessenden visual approach may seem a bit "style over substance" at first, but he takes a good time in developing the characters and their relationships. In fact, the relationships between them are probably the most important thing in "Wendigo". From Miles' distant relationship with his parents George (Jake Webber) and Kim (Patricia Clarkson) to both parents' struggle to keep a balance between job and family's responsibilities. The impact Otis has in the family and the Wendigo's legend work perfectly as plot devices to make the film move.

The lead cast is superb, with Erik Per Sullivan being an excellent actor despite his young age. Jake Webber and Patricia Clarkson show their talent and the three of them have very good chemistry as a family. The rest of the cast is average, but their work is fine considering that the center of the film are our three main characters. The Wendigo spirit, an important part of the plot, is very well recreated and despite its cheap low-budget look, Fessenden camera-work make it work very good.

Sadly, the movie is not perfect and despite having a very strong start, the movie loses steam and by the end it falls short to the expectations built. Larry Fessenden offers a creative and actually haunting film that is severely hurt by the lack of a competent conclusion, a shame if one considers that the characters are very well developed and the plot has lots of potential. The fact that the use of atmosphere, visuals and audio is superb makes the weak ending the more disappointing. It feels as if Fessenden had not cared about how to finish the tale as the movie feels incomplete.

"Wendigo" has been hailed as both a masterpiece and as a failure. While the movie has enough good things to be called a great film, it's disappointing pay-off and lack of conclusion are a big stain. In this case the best thing to do is to watch and judge for yourself, just don't expect a typical horror film. 6/10

While visually and audibly atmospheric,as well as some powerful opening scenes, "Wendigo" remains too ambiguous to be satisfying. The biggest failures come in the unexplained history of the menacing Otis as well as a poorly render "Wendigo." "Curse of the Demon" did a similar monster nearly 50 years ago and it is MUCH better than the "Wendigo." I give "Wendigo" a "4".

It's too bad, because the performances are uniformly good. Jake Weber and the actor playing Otis come across best.

If you ever saw an episode of "Touching Evil," you can appreciate how much better the photographic and audio effects are used here. Pity, the movie comes across as unfinished.

I was really disappointed in this film. Usually I will give a film a fighting chance but this one sunk to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. I found it tedious, boring and rather silly at times. The quick strobe-shots of the "Wendigo" almost had me laughing out loud. I am a great lover of indie films but this one has more of a sophomoric student film feel about it. Even the sound quality seemed student level. I'm not sure how this film (supposedly) garnered such praise from LA Weekly and the New York Times. It baffles me. The acting was second rate - even from Erik per Sullivan, Malcolm in the Middle's "Dewey" - who I usually find very funny and lively on the TV show. In this film it seemed like he slept-walked throughout the whole film. I'm not even sure that this would have been a better film with a different writer/director because this story seems to have been told before. The Shining meets Prophecy meets The Sixth Sense combo just did not work here. 2/10 stars.

Was hoping it was something like the WEndigo story from the X-men series ( which was really cool. BAck in JOhn Byrne days of Xmen). Anyhow, was nothing like it. Not scary, just plain stupid. Writer/Director should be flogged. Story definatly had potential, and how many movies out there deal with American Indian curses/legends? Not many. A wealth of storylines and ideas out there, just need to be done right.

Shame on all who were involved in the making of this movie. The time, effort, and money spent on this horrendous project could have fed homeless people or entertained the elderly for christ's sake!!!

This was an project of pretention and nothing else. This is the worst movie ever made. Every ten minute long pointless piece of dialogue sickened me. I pity the writer/director/editor. Anyone else who wasted two hours of their life to view this monstrosity of a picture deserves the favor of never having to witness anything by larry fesenden again.

Shame on all of you pretentious high school grade film makers.

Damn This is the worst movie I have ever seen. The whole movie I was waiting for a little bit of action. But it was such a waist of time. This movie really sucks

I believe this movie needs to be watched through the eyes of the boy, Miles. He has traveled with his Mom and Dad to a strange old house out in nowhere land, and has to sleep in a large room by himself. To me, the real horror in this film is the woods, and the darkness. The boy has been told about the legend, or folklore of the Wendigo. It roams the woods and fields looking for its next victim. In his bed the boy looks through old books which show pictures of Indian cultures which practice the rituals of wearing animal heads and masks. Everything around him is strange and creepy. I specifically remember long ago riding in the back seat of the family car on cold, dark winter nights, just like Miles was doing. Just me back there and Mom and Dad up front. Driving down a country road at dark, especially just as darkness has fallen, I could see the trees and woods as we passed by them, but just a short distance into the wood line, it turned completely black. The cold and snow added to the chill that would come over me. My boy brain could imagine that someone, or some thing, was in there watching us pass. If our car broke down here, we've had it. We would all be torn to pieces by whatever is out there, watching us. It may even be a large black wolf, and I imagined I could see only two yellow eyes, just into the trees. Cars did not have automatic devices back then, and I would slowly reach over to be sure the door was locked. I could not wait to get home and into my warm cozy bed in my own safe room. I personally really liked the extremely moody photography in this film and the snowy, dark, late evening and night scenes. To me, that is the real scare and even now gives me chills to think about. The Wendigo itself is almost a side story to the isolation, darkness and the unknown of the woods at night. If nothing else, I like this film because it introduced me to, or reminded me of, a wonderful old poem by Robert Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". I printed that poem and hung it by a window in my house where I look out onto the woods out back.

My friends and I rented this movie as we were looking for a horror film to either laugh at or be impressed by. With this film, we couldn't do either since it was so dull. The cover is a bit misleading, and the movie told no story whatsoever. There's a lot of irrelevant, boring dialogue and even when it sticks to the plot, nothing enhances it or helps it grow. There isn't enough suspense for it to be considered a horror film. The basic story follows a family vacationing in the wintry mountains who bump into irate hunter Otis. After the family gets settled, the little boy, Miles, has strange visions and meets a mysterious Native American. This is where you learn the conflicting information about the Wendigo. Is it good, is it bad? What does it want? You'll never know. Maybe this is to help you make your own opinion, but the movie doesn't even give you enough criteria to base one on!

If you do decide to rent this (they should be paying you to rent it), and feel gypped by the movie, you may try looking at the director's interview to learn more about the Wendigo. Well, you'll be disappointed there too. Toothless Larry Fessenden stands in front of a graffiti wall on a city street to share all his knowledge which turns out to be very little. He'll speak of hearing his teacher tell the story of the dreaded Wendigo when he was in third grade, and that it "haunted him ever since". He doesn't divulge the actual story because he conveniently forgets. Nice supporting back story there, buddy. You can't even remember what inspired you to make this stupid movie?

The only, ONLY good thing about this movie was the Wendigo itself. They put in a lot of effort and detail to make the Wendigo lifelike. However, you only get to see that in the 'making of' DVD extra. In the actual movie, the lighting is dark or the shots are too quick for you to appreciate it. Obviously, lighting issues are for atmosphere but it didn't seem to make sense to give that much full body detail to the creature if we weren't gonna see all of it.

My advice is to skip over this one unless you enjoy being confused or laughing at the beginning of the "Searching for the Wendigo" extra.

Kim (Patricia Clarkson), George (Jake Weber) and son Miles (Erik Per Sullivan) are headed to the country for winter weekend relief from Manhattan's bustling metropolis. On the way, they hit a buck and end up stuck in the snow. A group of hunters who were tracking the buck come along. Rather than helping, at least one of the hunters, Otis (John Speredakos), is mad because the accident cracked the buck's antlers. George, Kim and Miles are disturbed by Otis, and even worse, we quickly learn that Otis has learned where they're staying. Meanwhile, Miles is given a wendigo (a kind of Indian shape-shifting spirit/monster) token by an Indian whom only he has seen. Is Otis a psycho out to get our heroes? Are there wendigos in the woods?

I can see where Wendigo would have a number of problems appealing to viewers. It is a fairly low budget film, with technical limitations frequently showing through. Much of the film, and maybe all of it, is not really about the titular creature. And perhaps the fatal blow for many people, it has a very ambiguous ending, with a number of questions left unanswered. If you are discouraged by such endings, and you do not like films that have an aim of making you think about and discuss what everything meant, do yourself a favor and avoid Wendigo.

Personally, I like films like that. I usually prefer some ambiguity. The marketing of Wendigo is geared towards those who want a quick, scary creature flick, where they'd expect a grand battle with some supernatural monster who is defeated in the end, and everything is tied up neatly except for an opening for Wendigo 2: The Monster Returns, but that's not what this film is. Wendigo is much more thoughtful and poetic than the surface of such a creature flick would suggest to most people. Heck, writer/director Larry Fessenden even has a character, George, reciting Robert Frost. The Frost poem, and George's comment that Frost can evoke complex imagery and atmosphere out of seemingly simple things, is the key to the film.

One of the best things about the film is its complexity. In a way, there are four different films occurring at the same time, a thread from each character. In George's thread, he isn't exactly the happiest or most pleasant guy in the world, and he has some parenting problems. For him, the film is a realistic, horrific descent of his life going from bad to worse. In Patricia's thread, she's looking for rejuvenation of her life and family. She's a psychologist mostly denying the problems around her, hoping that they'll go away and get better. In Otis' thread, he's even more down on his luck than George, and George's arrival into his life symbolizes the final "crack" in his psychological armor. And in Miles' thread, which is probably the most important of the film, life is like a grand poem due to his youthful innocence and interpretation of the world. But this is a horror story, after all, albeit one with a glimmer of hope, and the events in the film give Miles' poetic interpretations a dark turn. Still, when everything is said and done, he seems to be the only one retaining his composure, due to the poetic outlook.

Even though the film is low budget, there are a lot of well-executed higher budget ambitions. Fessenden and director of photography Terry Stacey find some great shots in beautiful locations, and created some interesting slide show like montages (such as the cards, or the Indian wendigo images from the book). There are also interesting more traditional montages, such as Miles' nightmare. Wendigo is better shot and edited than many big budget films.

Other technical aspects are good for the budget. The "Wendigo" appearance at the end worked for me and was appropriately ambiguous. The lighting was usually good--there were a few times that dark scenes weren't as clear as they could have been, but it seemed to be more of a problem with the film stock (it could have been digital instead) or transfer. I thought the performances were good and far more realistic (if you value that) than the majority of films. Although I didn't really notice the score, it must have been okay, or I would have noticed it with a negative judgment.

Overall, Wendigo is a very good film that deserves to be watched without preconceptions, as long as you don't mind having to think about the movies you watch.

I am drawn to watch horror movies, mostly because I like them as an art form, rather than trying to evaluate how scary they are. I want to defend this movie from the readers whom disliked it, even though you all gave good supportive reasons for your negative reviews. There's plenty here that will please certain viewers.

First, this horror movie pits a realistic family against credible threats, which makes it easier for the viewer to sympathize with their problems. This is a family of three somewhat neurotic people, so obsessed with having a great time on this vacation that they set you up for the fun of seeing it all be destroyed. The parents are practically fighting with each other to see which one can do a better job of protecting their overly sensitive child. Early on, there's a surprising accident where they hit the deer, and the main thing on their minds is how this might mentally damage their son. Then they find more intimidating problems from several hunters with guns, miffed that these "city dwellers" have crashed into their prized trophy. Enter Otis, who's obsessively hateful towards George, the protective father, and everything he and his wife and son stand for. This creates a tension that prevails through the rest of the story.

I thought the Otis character was very well portrayed as both threatening and realistic; he reminded me of some gym teachers I've feared from junior high school. Meanwhile, George, who's supposed to be watching out for his family's safety, could not foresee what a threat Otis could become. He was all wrapped around the axle that Otis hated him for an accident which wasn't his fault, and he was obsessing about not being able to make peace with him. The incompetence of this "protective" father is highlighted again when a bullet is shot through his wall. It never occurs to him that it could have hit him, his wife or son, nor does he associate it with Otis, the psychotic hunter, even though we, the viewers, do. Sure, he's upset by the bullet, but not enough to take any precautions against being hit by another one.

Then, to add to the fun, the boy sees psychedelic images. I thought that these were entertaining to watch, even though at first I didn't know what was going on. It added to the tensions of this movie to see the boy frightened by his own peculiar illusions, and we wouldn't like this to happen to us either.

Don't worry, I'm not trying to analyze the entire movie, but since others have bad-mouthed the sex scene, here is why I thought it was effective. The parents could already see that things were going wrong with their dream trip, the kid was now having wakeful nightmares in his bed, and are the parents aware of this? Of course not: They are having a very energetic sex scene. Not only are they oblivious to the fact that their son could easily hear them, and if he happened to leave his bedroom, catch them in the act, but they are also oblivious to Otis, watching, like a spook in their window. It was a good horror movie sex scene; Otis is observing their every move, and he doesn't even care that they may see him. I was wondering what was going on in Otis' mind. It was obviously something perverted, or at least not nice.

As for the monster, I think it was an apparition sent by the boy to drive Otis to his destruction. For such a "hungry" monster, I don't recall it eating anybody. And as for the symbolism in this movie, it reflected upon how easily blind hatred manifests itself in causing intense fear and physical harm to innocent people; the things that good horror movies are made of. In the case of this previously timid child, now he was calling upon supernatural forces to take a deadly revenge.

To sum it up, even if it is not quite as great a movie as written up on the DVD box, many horror movie fans should find this worth watching.

This is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever rented. I waited weeks for the movie store to get a copy in stock. Finally, when they did and I rented it, I was shocked at how stupid this movie was. The ending is a big let down. I would recommend this movie only to people who don't believe me on how much of a let-down this one was.

1 out of 10

If you want to see a good, scary movie, check out Puppet Master, Skinned Alive, Sleep Away Camp, Slumber Party Massacre, and other Full Moon Pictures flicks. For other recommendations, check out the other comments I have sent in by clicking on my name above this comment section.

I just wasted 90 or so minutes of my life... AND MY WIFE'S... by watching this... crap. Simply put, it's crap. Forget the "this film is really underrated" comments you've seen (it's not... I'd say anything over 2 is too HIGH). Forget the "artsy"-folks comments to the contrary, but this movie is simply crap. It doesn't matter who's in it, it doesn't matter who directed it, no... camera "effects" don't matter, it doesn't even matter that they have a super-duper, gee-whiz-wow, what-the-hell-is-that cross between a rabid kangaroo and a deer as the title creature... Please folks... learn from my mistake. Stay home if you have the urge to rent Sub-B rated movies. Rotate your tires or do the dishes instead...

This movie was horrible. With the possible (passable?) exception of Miles' character, played by Erik Per Sullivan of 'Malcolm in the Middle', the players were more caricatures than characters. The dialogue was contrived and stereotypical - characters were never allowed to step outside of their identified stereotypes such as the rural country folk or the yuppie father. A gratuitous and awkward sex scene that served basically no purpose could find a purpose indeed when this movie makes it to television: 'Wendigo' may be picked up by Cinemax for late night airing.

This movie isn't really a good horror movie but more of a 'a-okay' supernatural drama with superb creepy elements that definitely make it stand among the lower budget indie titles of the early 2000's. The technical achievements and the special effects that have been made-used in this movie are without a doubt phenomenal in giving a the viewer a real sense that this 'thing' is a solid otherworldly object that could be out there in the woods, running so alien at speeds unimaginable, dare I say it even came close to being nightmarish at times had it not been the way the overall plot quickly sucks the horror out once you realize who the 'Wendigo' is and why it is here.

This where the supernatural drama begins to originate from both the plot and the characters, there is really nothing super special here in both the good or bad department for everything in the plot is just (a-okay) to which I believe brings me this point I have to make. A simple rewrite of the entire script that shifted more away from making the Wendigo a divine wind of justice and into a cannibalistic force that is to be reckoned within the isolated deep woods of northern new york could have in my earnest opinion made for the perfect recipe for one of the greatest horror movies of the early 21st century. This could have been achieved with some simple rewrites and a more horror focused story as opposed to the supernatural drama we got instead. There is a trade off I found out that could have been made if the script was rewritten and that trade off is simply; do you want a okay supernatural drama or a creepy if not unnerving horror flick that rings back to the paranoia of 'The Thing' and a creature that is eerily terrifying in effectiveness similar to 'Alien'.

This is one of those unique horror films that requires a much more mature understanding of the word 'horror' in order for it to be appreciated. The main thing people may fail to realize that this story is told through the point of view a little boy and, as with most younger children, he gets frightened easily. Mainly because he simply doesn't understand things, like why his father is hardly ever there for him. From watching the film you can see the husband arguing with his wife the balance between work time and family time and you can easily understand it, but the little boy doesn't. Also one can imagine the boy being afraid of the woods, as it is established early on in the film, that the family is from the city. Also, in the beginning as the family is traveling to the house they hit a deer, then get held up, then they argue with the locals about it, and the little boy surely didn't find this introduction to the woods pleasant at all.

The "Wendigo" is ultimately what his young, innocent mind fabricates to explain all of this. There is the American Indian legend, but when looking at the scene where the young boy hears about about it, it is explained to him like bluntly and simplistically. Not because that's what the Wendigo actually is, but because that is how he understands it. When you look at the film from this point of view you can really begin to appreciate it. Obviously it was low-budget and shot cheaply, but the jumping montages, use of light, and general eeriness more than make up for it. And the final question the film asks is: is it all in your head, or is it really out there? 8/10

Rated R: profanity, violence, and a sex scene

Shot on video, low budget, adding spiritual and supernatural with surrealistic dashes of the Brothers Quay. Not quite certain how to describe it overall, but this is a slow burn, confusing, domestic drama with shades of "Straw Dogs" that is derailed by Native American spirituality leading to some twisted surrealistic revenge plot. (I would have preferred the Native American spirituality had a stronger focus.) Enough said.

The story is about a man who along with his wife n son takes a weekend off n head to an isolated house to cut off from the city n work life stress. On the way, the man hits a deer who was running away from some hunters. After being towed n reaching the house, the man notices bullet stuck in the wall n a hole in the window. The next morning the family goes to a store where the boy is given an idol of wendigo, a so called creature by a Red Indian...... This film is utterly boring. Nothing happens. Most of the scenes r shot in the dark n to add to the turmoil, the shaky cam stuff is even more irritating. Ther is zero kills, no gore, tension n suspense is lacking n forget bah the lousy sex scene with nada nudity. Generous with 5 cos of decent acting n a lil eerie atmosphere. Saw this recently for the first time.