Never Hike Alone Review
Directed by Vincente DiSanti
Witten by Vincente DiSanti
In case you didn't know, Never Hike Alone is a Kickstarter funded Friday the 13th fan film. This means the creators don't make a profit from the movie and the whole fifty minute film is on YouTube, free for anyone to watch, and I do recommend you watch it. Let's talk about why.
The plot is pretty simple, a hiker/vlogger (Drew Leighty) goes on an expedition for footage and stumbles across the remains of Camp Crystal Lake and it's rather infamous guest, Jason Voorhees. That's really it, without ruining the ending, and if you're a big Friday fan, you don't want me to ruin the ending. Little references to the first couple movies are littered around the camp and there's just enough Jason to satisfy. You'll be surprised at how entertaining it is as a Friday movie despite having a very small body count. The run time of the movie stops any boredom from setting in and keeps it short and sweet and very rewarding.
Jason is looking pretty good this time around. Unfortunately it's hard to believe in how imposing he's supposed to be as a lot of the time he comes off as just "some dude in a mask" but a quick glance at his newly designed messed up face will set you straight. Adding to that point, the effects of Never Hike Alone are pretty impressive for a short, even though there isn't a huge amount of heavy effects.
I wouldn't call the movie scary but the Friday films stopped being scary a long time ago and became about the entertainment value. Never Hike Alone is certainly entertaining. It might start slow but it only picks up more and more speed and ends on a surprising note.
Never Hike Alone is made by fans, for fans and it's a great unofficial entry into the Friday the 13th series, it even beats out a few of the main series. The only reason I wouldn't recommend this movie is if you were looking for a stack of corpses but I think one of the most impressive things about Never Hike Alone is the fact it satisfies despite having a small body count and for a fan made movie, it's very impressive. It is without a doubt worth your time if you're a big Friday fan and even non Friday fans should be able to enjoy Never Hike Alone.
Rating: ****
Better than > Friday the 13th: A New Beginning Worse than > Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Main Pros -Run time -Nostalgia -Effects -Fan Service -Ending
Main Cons -Low kill count
It's a good year to be a Friday the 13th fan, thanks for reading and stick around for more Friday content and you can watch the movie right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K_wkQSM8xM
