If someone ever tells you Pelt is a slasher to seek out, pelt them in the face, as hard as you posbly can.
As much as I wanted to believe the mild buzz surrounding this micro-budget feature to be duly warranted, it wasn’t. Not even close. In fact Pelt follows a well-trodden path of clichés en route to a handful of dull “violent exchanges” your brother could have choreographed.
As the film unfolds you find yourself seeking a likeable character. Thanks to some horrendous acting, that character goes misng for 80 plus minutes. The dialogue comes off in crudely stiff fashion, and while some vocal exchanges have the potential to be hilarious, they’re delivered so miserably they miss the laugh by a long shot.
The story itself is pretty run of the mill; small bits of just about every slasher film shot. The action (as you probably guessed) begins in a secluded region of a forest, and, well you know the rest from there. The addition of a hint of torture porn acts as a valiant attempt to separate this one from the rest of the pack, but sadly, this angle also fails.
There are a few creepy shots, a savage slaying or so and some nice lighting in a couple key sequences, but ade from that, there isn’t all too much to praise. It’s almost as if the cast and crew showed up motivated…a third of the time shooting.
One credit I will issue: this flick breaks about every mold you can imagine. Think you know the survivor? Probably not. Will every sex crazed, dope head meet a grizzly demise? Maybe not. How's it going to end, well, you're just going to have to ride it out and see.
http://youtu.be/jFbjMJY-yI4
When the spirit is there, it’s admirable and inspired. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem as though writer/director, Richard Swindell is able to pull it from each performer constently.
I’m a major advocate for slasher/stalker films. I love throwback pieces, and I’m, for the most part, always up for youngsters being slaughtered. But, there’s no getting around it, Pelt just couldn’t cut the mustard, plain and mple.
Rating: D+ (For killing some incredibly annoying characters!)