Husk (2011)

The Age of Commercialism

Such a frustrating disappointment

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

After reading all the reviews here I decided to buy the movie. I started it a bit hesitantly because I simply love the Jeepers Creepers' movies and I was afraid to be disappointed... But from the beginning all signals were ok : good actors, good building of the atmosphere, so I sat down relieved and happy for what was going to follow... And it stayed like that during the length of the movie! I watched it 3 times in a row and I still was excited of my 'found'... It is definitely one to keep in my collection! I am sorry to say that most of the horror movies that I buy end up being sold second hand after watching them once, but this one is definitely a keeper! The story cannot be compared to other scarecrow movies, it stands entirely on its own. So may you enjoy this one as much as I do...

I didn't have any expectations going in to this flick and have never really been interested in scarecrow horror but thought I'd give it a try. I have to say I really liked this movie. No it's not a block-buster or anything but lately I've realised that is actually a GOOD thing more often than not. The acting is great, production is fine. There are a couple of flaws but nothing worth moaning on about and I liked that the characters behaviour wasn't too stupid. Also a lot of stereotypes were avoided so the flick had a fresh feel to it. The one female character (played by Tammin Sursock) was excellent, both the character & the actor and I also liked the guy she was initially having issues with (Chris?). Some things needed better explanation and the ending was a bit lame (there really wasn't any logic behind the big collapse & not being able to speak thing - or if there was it was too easy to miss) but still a decent scary flick with old skool flavour. Not too gory and some nice jump scares as well as well crafted creepiness. Also, reading some of these reviews - particularly the negative ones, it seems to me that either people didn't actually watch it OR they skimmed through missing out bits because many of them have their facts wrong LOL. Trust me, this isn't a masterpiece but it's definitely worth a rent. It's one of the better ones. I've given it a 7 to help boost it's rating as I believe it's undeservedly low. It's probably really a 5 - 6 pointer tho.

Overall, 'Husk' inspired within me a sense of nostalgia for horror movies of the seventies and eighties. In that light perhaps my review will be considered a biased one based on yearning for pictures of that era. However, if you are a serious horror fan who is closer to his fourth decade mark than the third, skip my review and watch 'Husk' without further delay. You will enjoy it. 'Husk' brought to mind films such as 'Hell Night' and 'Scarecrows' - that is a good thing. Nostalgia again. I do miss the dark, unpredictable films of those bygone years. Years before CGI and hundred million dollar budgets. Way back when a horror movie was made with the dual purpose of frightening you and making you think while it did so. When horror flicks made you sweat bullets for the doomed protagonists or yell at the screen to warn them or tell them how foolish was their blunder into the dark cellar.'Husk' begins with a group of college kids (who else?) on a road trip to do some (what else?) partying at (you guessed it) a cabin somewhere. Thankfully, they never get there. Our cast of twenty something soon to be victims of dark horizons have decided that instead of following a bustling macadam six lane, it'd be wiser to take a detour through hell's backyard. This time around the devil's acreage turns out to be a back country barely two lane that cuts through a lost swath of the heartland.After a very brief introduction to three of the five characters (two are asleep in back of the car)something ends their ability to continue on and they find themselves stranded in a sea of late season corn. Right about here arises the first of very few problems I have with the film - the killing begins too soon. That's it. I enjoy a script that gives me a chance to meet each of the characters before some spawn of hell chomps down on them. Oh well, the score right off the bat is one down, four to go. What follows is a cast of semi shallowly written characters brought to life by competent enough actors who struggle to find help for their damaged ride while searching for their missing friend. Wrapped around the aforementioned is a surprisingly well thought out story which includes much time spent in an appropriately creepy, abandoned farmhouse and a supernatural game of cat and mouse (sorry, no disappointing human slasher element here).Normally I would delve deeper into the plot and happenings while writing out a review but this time I do not want to risk spoiling the goods for others. To sum up, if you're a fan of movies like 'Mama' or pretty much any of the PG-13 horror flicks of late, you might not like 'Husk'. Otherwise, if John Carpenter and George Romero are your guys, run right out and rent or by this movie. You'll "get" it.

I only found out about this film as it was a question on a movie quiz. After watching the movie I realised why I had never heard of it.It is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it is painfully average.The acting is good, as is the script and camera work and the premise is good also. The corn field has been used in horror movies of the past to great effect. The rustling leaves, the disorientating walls of corn stalk; being both isolated and exposed at the same time. Scary stuff.This film doesn't really attempt to capitalise on this, it uses the corn field as a simple barrier to hem the characters in.Some of the scenes in the farm are spooky, which is the high point in this middle-flat-line film.One of the reasons I am writing this review is to remind me I have seen this movie as I am sure by tomorrow I would have forgotten it almost entirely.