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Cottage Country takes awhile before it finds the groove it wants to be in. This happens once the brother is killed. Everything leading up to that is really hit and miss comedy and bad set up. Labine doesn't seem comfortable, Akerman doesn't have much to do and Punch is incredibly annoying. Once the conflict arises, meaning the dead brother, the film finally gets into the right balance of comedy and horror...even though it goes lite on the horror.
Todd brings his girlfriend up to the family cottage with the intention of proposing to her. Problems arise when his loser of a brother, Salinger shows up with his on/off girlfriend and ruins everything. Things go from bad to worse when the two brothers get into a pushing match, which ends with Salinger dead. Now Todd must keep it together before other people find out.
Labine plays Todd, and every-man that people tend to walk over, be it his boss, brother and even wife. There is a bit of Tucker & Dale vs Evil intention here, with the character and overall tone of the film, but Cottage Country fails to deliver the laughs and gore. Instead we get chuckles here and there, mainly from the cast and the situation they are in. Akerman surprised me here. She held her own as the marriage obsessed wife. I forgot she could do comedy well.
The film tries this balancing act, but never quiet finds the footing. There are oddly placed scenes in which Todd sees his dead brother talking to him, but this adds nothing to the story and doesn't happen enough. There are only two scenes we get to see this interaction and decay of his psychological state. There were some tense and funny moments when the couple were trying their best to keep the murders under wraps, but not one memorable scene that stands out as really funny. The film had a decent premise (although it was a bit of a stretch) and it didn't really seem to take any chances. I would have appreciated it more if it had.
Cottage Country is a decent Canadian comedy horror that is 'lite' on both. If you can get past the awful choice of having Lucy Punch do an odd accent for cheap laughs, and you can appreciate the ludicrous aspect of the premise and these horrible characters, then give Cottage Country a look. Just don't expect much, you'll leave a little bit surprised.
Cottage Country
(Peter Wellington)
(Peter Wellington)
Cottage Country takes awhile before it finds the groove it wants to be in. This happens once the brother is killed. Everything leading up to that is really hit and miss comedy and bad set up. Labine doesn't seem comfortable, Akerman doesn't have much to do and Punch is incredibly annoying. Once the conflict arises, meaning the dead brother, the film finally gets into the right balance of comedy and horror...even though it goes lite on the horror.
Todd brings his girlfriend up to the family cottage with the intention of proposing to her. Problems arise when his loser of a brother, Salinger shows up with his on/off girlfriend and ruins everything. Things go from bad to worse when the two brothers get into a pushing match, which ends with Salinger dead. Now Todd must keep it together before other people find out.
Labine plays Todd, and every-man that people tend to walk over, be it his boss, brother and even wife. There is a bit of Tucker & Dale vs Evil intention here, with the character and overall tone of the film, but Cottage Country fails to deliver the laughs and gore. Instead we get chuckles here and there, mainly from the cast and the situation they are in. Akerman surprised me here. She held her own as the marriage obsessed wife. I forgot she could do comedy well.
The film tries this balancing act, but never quiet finds the footing. There are oddly placed scenes in which Todd sees his dead brother talking to him, but this adds nothing to the story and doesn't happen enough. There are only two scenes we get to see this interaction and decay of his psychological state. There were some tense and funny moments when the couple were trying their best to keep the murders under wraps, but not one memorable scene that stands out as really funny. The film had a decent premise (although it was a bit of a stretch) and it didn't really seem to take any chances. I would have appreciated it more if it had.
Cottage Country is a decent Canadian comedy horror that is 'lite' on both. If you can get past the awful choice of having Lucy Punch do an odd accent for cheap laughs, and you can appreciate the ludicrous aspect of the premise and these horrible characters, then give Cottage Country a look. Just don't expect much, you'll leave a little bit surprised.