TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL (2010)
TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL is a 2010 horror comedy directed by Eli Craig, who also co-wrote with Morgan Jurgenson. Affable hillbillies Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) are mistaken to be a pair of deranged, murderous mountain men by vacationing college kids.
There are plenty of horror movies where these good looking and fun teens go to some middle-of-nowhere vacation spot to bond only to run into trouble because of some crazy hillbillies who just so happen to enjoy the occasional horrible bloodbath.
It is a story that has been told time and time again.
What I appreciate about this movie is that while Tucker and Dale played to some hillbilly stereotypes, they were genuine characters that were allowed to be nice and just wanted to enjoy their vacation.
Shifting perspective (and color filters) reveals new sides of people. Dale is someone with whom I could be friends. Even though he lacks confidence and has low self-esteem, his kindness showed through—much different than his slack-jawed staring and overalls cover would be used to suggest in other movies.
Chad!
If anyone knows me they already know how I feel about guys named Chad. Sure, all Chads might not be bad, but a lot of Chads irk my soul and Jesse Moss’ Chad in TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL is no different. Chad is arrogant, narcissistic, prejudiced…Chad is an asshole. He is clearly the antagonist of the movie pretty early on. Every time he opened his mouth, I rolled my eyes. Chad thinks he’s the leading man and thinks that entitles him to certain things.
But his name isn’t in the title of the film, and by the end his denial sends him into a horrible rage that ends poorly for the dude. Chad is the guy you love to hate.
He is pushy and sees Tucker and Dale as beneath him. Something that is as true in TUCKER & DALE as it is in our world is that you really know someone when you look at who they judge and how they treat others.
Allison
Katrina Bowden is Allison, the requisite blonde ingenue who finds herself in the crosshairs of danger. I liked that, while Allison initially judged Dale (based on an influx of pop culture influences and classist assumptions), she quickly realized that not only did he want to help her, but he genuinely seemed interested in her as a person. Chads don’t see Allisons as people but objects that they are owed. When she tries to mediate between Dale and Chad to explain everything, she was more rational in a seemingly comedic situation. Allison sidesteps her own set of stereotypes of the pretty, shallow, blonde girl in slasher films to reveal her sincerity and intelligence.
A Love Story?
As a person who writes romantic fiction, I love to find a good love story where I want to root for the couple to have a happy ending. In horror movies, I’m always adamant that love stories and scenes can wait until everyone is safe and sound. Nothing bothers me more than seeing people stop to kiss or have all these moments as if there isn’t a killer running amuck.
However, it works here because, despite all the genre trappings and buckets of gore, TUCKER & DALE isn’t a horror movie. And one of the central pillars of Craig’s film is comic misunderstanding, so it makes sense for people to be oblivious to what is actually happening or not react how one “should” in a terrifying situation. Plus Dale is so kind, thoughtful, and fun to be around—even with his lack of social skills. While it was obvious that it would happen, seeing the relationship play out between him and Allison tugged at my heartstrings.
Allison saw what was clear quite early and wanted to not only give Dale a chance but also explain to her friends that things aren’t always what they seem. This was the one time I was okay with love being mixed in because it wasn’t rushed, progressing naturally through a series of conversations between two people who earnestly wanted to communicate and understand each other.
Final Thoughts
TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL skewers common horror narratives by making the college kids the villains who prey on the meek and innocent mountain men (a wrong WRONG TURN, if you will).
They were dumb, self-centered, and oblivious to what was happening around them. That lack of awareness is what gets most of them killed; fewer beautiful corpses would be draped about that forest if they paid just a bit more attention to others.
The fact that the audience got to see exactly who Dale was inside makes it easy to root for him, which pays off as he keeps his friend, gets the girl, and even gains some confidence. Spinning a cliché on its head can end up revealing a whole new perspective.
Though Chads being dicks seems to be a near certainty from pretty much any POV.
