Customer Reviews

Timber Falls

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Timberfalls has all of the elements of good horror . Beautiful young woman, that you get to see partly naked, check. Handsome strong hero, check. Crazy twisted family, check. Ugly, mutated villian, check. Quite a bit of blood, with some torture, check. Nothing about this film is original, however it did deliver what it set out to. I myself was never bored, but also not blown away by anything that happened. The plot was pretty good, even though you can guess as to what is gonna happen next. The acting is convincing, but noone will get nominated for a academy award. The blood and torture scenes were very well done, those being my favorite parts of the movie.

Mike and Sheryl set out to go camping in the mountains, while hiking they stop for alittle foreplay, when getting stopped by three redneck guys that just want to have a little fun harrassing the young pair. After warning the two to be careful what they do in woods, that everyone is watching, the young couple set out to complete their hike. Setting up camp near a lake, the next morning Sheryl goes for a swim in the nearby lake, only to be kidnapped. Waking up Mike realizes his girlfriend is missing. He embarks on a terrifying quest to save her. The young man soon finds a very bizzare family that will stop at nothing to get what they want.

As for the ending you see it coming a mile away. Nothing in the film was too shocking or over the top. On a more positive note, it is a descent B movie to watch and has some good gore moments.

An attractive, young, virile couple (Mike and Sheryl) go hiking in the wilderness. They ignore the park ranger's trail advice (fools) and they meet a simple yet helpful woman named Ida. Ida provides details about hiking trails, and inquires about the couple's piety. Naturally, she recommends the most dangerous and most picturesque of the trails: Timber Falls.

Along Timber Falls the couple decide to have sex in the woods. (Morons) Naturally, they run into a stereotypical group of hillbillies who speak with thick drawls and don't got no learnin'. During the exchange, Sheryl sees Mike's pistol, and convinces him to throw away the bullets. (Imbecile) Then they camp, get drunk, and copulate. The next morning she bathes solo in the lake. (Idiot) Mike follows it up by losing his Boy Scout merit badge for "Not Stepping in Bear Traps". (Jackass) The rest plays out exactly as you would expect it to: hillbilly, darkness, deformity, religion, formaldehyde jars, torture, candles, whips, and assorted edged weapons. Although, the warped family provides an interesting Children of the Corn warped sense of religion twist.

There are some positives, however. There are some very interesting filming techniques, close-ups, and clever use of lighting and angles. I felt at times that the visual concepts were ingenious. Not the typical choppy filming techniques of today that leave too much to the imagination and cause vertigo. The action was intense and believable - especially the torture. And despite the fact that Hellen Keller could have yelled out what was next, the movie is enjoyable in a horror/comedy combination.

Conversely, a good majority of this movie is just lazy. It's in West Virginia - aren't they all in West Virginia? It's the classic city-slickers versus rednecks. (I loved the "Popeye with deformities" angle) It borrows from the torture-porn genre that seems in vogue, or at least until desiccated by the Saw series. There are even two "girl trips while running from a villain" scenes. One eventually runs to a waterfall/cliff, a literal dead-end - plagiarized from Kiss the Girls. As a matter of fact, the movie appears to have borrowed the set from Kiss the Girls, even the underground tunnel system.

Overall it's just average. Neither bored nor excited, I didn't care what happened to the blatantly dumb couple. The main characters inability to elicit empathy made me almost root for the hillbillies. It's good enough to rent...if you haven't tired of Wrong Turn 1 or 2.

This is a solid 3 1/2 stars, one of the better direct to video releases you'll find in the genre. The camerawork is above par, the acting is believable, and the story is generally cohesive and well told, not to mention quickly paced. The theme is not particularly new, as a couple looks to escape the city for a camping getaway in the beautiful backwoods. The misplaced pair are part of the classic liberal urbanites clashing with the ultra conservative and extreme fundamentalists of rural Appalachia.

What strikes you first is this couple is given every indication that this trip is not a good idea. They are warned on two occasions to avoid the path they will take, and are harrassed near the point of being raped by locals in the woods, but that does not deter them from finding the most isolated locale possible to pitch a tent. This alone is enough to lose a star. When the woman turns up missing the next morning, the boyfriend frantically searches for her, leading us to a couple who are desparate for a child but unable to conceive. Their solution: find a verile couple to have one for them. And they have a deviously warped biblical view of the world to justify this. Truly their characters are devious enough, but we are given a brother who is, of course, deformed and mentally deranged, and the violent one in the family. He is really an afterthought in the movie, but he exists to perform some of the more grisly scenes that are effectively carried out over the latter half of the film.

You'll find plenty here that you have seen before, but there is enough of a twist to the typical backwoods theme to keep it fresh. The film is brutal at times - beginning with the very first scene - and there are a few scenes that do make you grit your teeth. Overall, it's a satisfying flick and a worthwhile addition to the genre, if not your collection.

It's become fashionable lately to name horror movies after a location. Maybe all the good horror names have been used up, maybe the writers lack creativity, or maybe it's just easier to remember. The latest in this string of peculiar American towns is Timber Falls.

Now, "Timber Falls" sounds a little bit silly, because all I can think of is someone shouting "TimmmmmBEEERRRRRRR!" as a tree falls. But maybe that's a point, because there's a lot of silliness going on in Timber Falls.

Timber Falls features a disfigured and deranged killer, a crazy family with a bizarre ideology, and "normal" folk who are secretly in league with the crazies. It's Misery meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Where Timber Falls distinguishes itself is the reason for the family's actions. TIMBER ALERT: I'm going to be felling a lot of spoiler trees in a moment.

There's lawman Clyde (Nick Searcy), who also happens to be the father of this insane clan. He may look normal, but he's actually the patriarch of a breeding program committed to producing a child for his beloved Ida (Beth Broderick). Ida has been driven mad by her repeated attempts at having children, the film's primary creepy moment encapsulated in the aborted fetuses collected in her basement. And tacked onto this bunch is Deacon (Sascha Rosemann), Ida's brother - a deformed, deranged serial killer.

Deacon is the muscle in this little operation dedicated to finding a new child for Ida and Clyde. Their master plan: find good breeding stock (i.e. stupid city people screwing around in the woods), ensure they aren't "living in sin" by marrying them if need be, and then forcing them to procreate until a baby arrives. It's not a particularly good plan, given that the first couple in the opening scenes dies rather than comply. But without a lot of stupidity Timber Falls wouldn't be much of a movie.

Into this mess stumbles Sheryl (delicious Brianna Brown) and Mike (Josh Randall). They're on a romantic hiking trip and think nothing of going off into uncharted territory - Timber Falls in this case. When they come across a group of sadistic hunters who threaten to 1) molest Sheryl, 2) steal her clothes, 3) wave shotguns in their faces, and 4) blackmail the couple into buying some moonshine...Mike chooses to pay them off rather than reach for his concealed handgun. Sheryl, in the height of stupidity, demands Mike remove all the bullets from his gun.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure the trip's over, right? The hunters did everything but actually assault the couple. Get rid of the gun? Are you kidding me lady?

Predictably, Sheryl is kidnapped and Mike goes on a tear to retrieve her. He then is 1) skewered by a sharp stick in the arm, 2) snared in a bear trap, 3) shot, 4) stabbed in the gut, and 5) tortured repeatedly. Throughout, Mike is defiant, hurling insults at his captors even though he and Sheryl are tortured until they comply. Somebody should tell Mike he's in a horror movie.

There's so many problems with Timber Falls. Deacon - who exists to menace the couple as Clyde and Idea are clearly not scary enough -- seems to be tacked on from another movie. Sheryl and Mike are dumb as rocks. And the ending sets up Timber Falls for a sequel it didn't earn.

The sad thing is that Timber Falls had potential - the contrast between city and country folks, the uncomfortable probing questions about religion from a young couple who probably hasn't thought much about settling down, and the idea of becoming brutalized in rural America...these are all scenes that build up dread. It's just that Timber Falls isn't sure what to do with its raw material.

Timber Falls (Tony Giglio, 2007)

Pretty standard damsel-in-distress-in-the-woods fare. Young-and-beautiful couple go on a hiking trip, encounter some of the locals (with the usual misdirections), run afoul of them simply because one set of mores is different than the other, and wind up in big, big trouble. You've seen it all before. If you're a fan of this sort of movie, you've seen it all before many, many times. Nothing here original, no interesting twists in the plot (or in the ideas behind it, which is often where one finds the most interesting twists), no standout acting or technical details. Some rather pretty scenery, but that's about all to recommend this one. * ½

I enjoyed this one. I've seen some losers recently, but this one delivered for the most part. Tired old plot, perhaps, but on par (I thought) with the heavyweights in the genre. The obsessive wannabe holy parents spin is an interesting one, and gives the whole tale a different angle from what I've seen.

Also, I don't mean to ruin it (but everyone will know it's coming) the `punishment' handed to the punishers will have you standing in applause.

But, the ending... A gripping, brutal, suspenseful nail biter with a hero and heroine you actually give a **** about can be flawed in one easy step: in the last two seconds, just give it a standard PG-13 finale shock and you can toss it up on the shelf with the rest...

Incidentally, anyone in the middle of a West Virginian forest who asks "what congregation y'all with?" probably won't be happy with your answer...

Slasher flicks. You either love 'em or hate them. I am on the fence with this one. On one side is razor wire and on the other side is quicksand. So you see my predicement. Most victims in slasher movies are commonly one sandwich short of a picnic. The couple in this movie also forgot the potato salad.

City dwellers Mike and Cheryl decide to hike in the rural hills of West Virginia. Unbeknownst to them, them thar hills is crawling with Bible-thumping lunatics, card-carrying rednecks, a drooling mutant and an unkempt, greasy haired woman dragging a child's wagon behind her. Mike and Cheryl even ask for directions from this person who looks like she has a permanent table at "Uncle Jimmy Bob's Fried Possum Shack."

They follow her directions(oh-oh) and as soon as they find a clearing they decide to have an impropmtu session of afternoon delight. Coitus is interruptus by a trio of card carrying rednecks who menace the couple, then extort 50 dollars from them.

Now comes the scene where I lost further vested interest for the welfare of the couple.

Remember-they have just been scared silly by rednecks. Well Cheryl is horrified to learn that Mike is carrying a loaded revolver. They compromise--she tells him he can keep the gun but to toss the bullets. He throws the rounds into the lake, the fish get fed and we're left with a movie starring Dumb and dumber.

I watched the movie until the end well aware that here was a couple too stupid to live but to be slowly tortured. The balance of the film involves-named fetus's in mason jars, mutilations, forced copulation, chopped fingers, a gory whipping, a drooling mutant's attempt at sex, impalements, shotgun blasts, cut throats, a moonshine molotov cocktail.

The last scene is one of those "surprise" scenes but like the couple it doesn't make sense. Although it is revealed that Cheryl is aleady 8 weeks pregnant before the torture scenes-it is now one year later and Mike and Cheryl have survived their weekend hiking trip and now are doting parents of a baby boy. They leave the room and suddenly a baby hand reaches up from the crib holding a miniature scythe. Give me a break! LOL

My husband and I love movies in what we call the backwoods psycho genre. We love ones such as the Wrong Turn trilogy where the characters are inbred deformed cannibals but they do all tend to be similar. In this case it was nice to have a change of pace. We are not religious so to have a chance to make fun of crazy bible thumping psycho freaks for a few hours was entertaining. There were also some good twists and turns where some of the characters you assume are bad guys end up trying to help the "city folk." I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't take their movies too seriously and wants a good B grade horror movie to veg out to!

Just watchedd this movie and I have to say that it was a pretty good "straigh to video release". The acting is good and the production is better than most b-movies. Although the story is something we have seen a few times before there was an interesting twist to the whole "hikers in the woods get kidnapped and tortured by a disfigured psychopath and his creppy family" genre. The only thing i really didnt like was the end but overall a good movie and worth the watch. If you like Horror movies than its a good additon to the collection.

Even the people who liked this movie are quick to add that there isn't one original scene or shot in this movie.

Another juvenile poke at West Virginia (but I guess it's really Romania), another swipe at those kooky Christians who have one mutant offspring and obviously want many more. I don't fault the actors and the production values...but I despise the filmmakers who thought we needed another one of these movies.

It is so by-the-numbers that I'll bet most of the viewers didn't even have a problem when 2 plus 2 equaled...5.

What do I mean? SPOILER AHEAD. And, honestly, could the term SPOILER AHEAD be used for this movie? If someone can spoil something in this movie for you, welcome to the wonderful world of film, because you are definitely new to this art form.

Okay, big climax. A major character has been tortured nearly as bad as Jim Cavaziel in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. He even gets shot, which Cavaziel didn't get. He's delirious, he's bleeding out, and then...he gets a big rod run directly through his gut. Which, by the way, means it connected, if not severed, his spine. The usual "don't you die on me, don't you die on me." Expressionless, pale. Glazed eyes frozen open. Bummer.

Then the final scene. And there he is. Oh. Good. I guess. No explanation, nothing...but there he is. And nobody's protesting. Why? Because if the movie had done something DIFFERENT--like maintain a consistency or a stab at logic--it would not have DONE THE SAME THING THAT EVERY MOVIE LIKE THIS DOES. Pure formula.

I was just walking around Santa Monica last week and passed a movie company's lobby. I looked in and saw the posters on the wall. The TERMINATOR movies, a couple of Bruce Willis pics, TOMBSTONE...and the newest poster was TIMBER FALLS. I'd never heard of it.

Now I know why.