A Dose of Terror: Wither
A DOSE OF TERROR
Wither (Cabin of the Dead)
By Steve Wood
Move over Evil Dead and Cabin in the Woods, there is a new contender in town, and in my opinion, this movie blows the others away, with ease. The basic run down of this flick is that a group of friends go visit a cabin, with the hopes of having a booze and sex filled weekend. Things start out cool, but things quickly turn to shit as one girl enters the basement, sees a strange figure, and begins to slowly transform into something unimaginable.
I’m a firm believer that European horror is superior to what’s made in North America, period. The level of violence is always turned up a notch; the effects are mostly practical, and ultra-realistic. Wither does not pull any punches, once the violence starts, it does not let up until the end credits.
Since Wither hails from Sweden, the cast is full of unknowns, and every now and then that’s exactly what’s needed to make a movie like this great. The story isn’t anything special, we have only basic facts about the group, but the movie does have its own mythos regarding the events happening in the cabin.
Going into this, I would have sworn I was watching another remake of Evil Dead, the similarities are VERY evident, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Besides the obvious similarities like the cabin, or the basement, there is also a heavy “grit” factor with the way it was shot. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but the frequent screen imperfections reminded me of the original Evil Dead, or even Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. Whatever the reason to film this way, kudos to Tommy Wiklund with his cinematography, make-up, practical effects and sound duties. This is one of the best looking horror movies I’ve seen in years.
That brings me to the violence, as it actually made me cringe on more than one occasion. I’m not sure what the MPAA equivalent is over in Europe, but they’re obviously either very lenient, or simply non-existent. I’m glad to say that there are only a couple of CGI effects in the roughly 60 minutes of pure blood and gore; the amount of corn syrup that was used must be staggering.
Wither is a scary flick, and it accomplishes this without the use of jump scares, or moments of silence ending abruptly with a loud score. The lighting, the tone, and the look of the people when they turn into whatever it is they are, is what really make this frightening. I can’t say enough about this one, but bottom line is that you should find a way to see this.
GRADES
Violence – A+
Realism – A
Suspense – B
Nudity – F