Wendigo Review
Past The Last Winter I’m not very familiar with Larry Fessenden’s previous films. What I do know is that compared to most (or better yet all) R Rated horror movies, this certainly breaks the mold. the story is essentially about a boy named Miles who goes on a trip to the snowy wilderness with his parents. Along the way he encounters two horrors that, in a way, interlock: the titular creature based on Native American folklore, and a lunatic poacher who seems to have a grudge against his father for crashing into a deer said poacher was trying to hunt. Unlike most horror films which rely on jump scares or even violence Wendigo leaves you with the mystery and even a Native American inspired soundtrack that makes you feel the dread of whether that creature is lurking or not. It’s almost as if you’re right next to Miles as he holds on to the fear of coming across that creature, let alone dreading the possibility he may even be the poacher as said creature can shapeshift. The overall premise alone helped this movie almost reignite the monster movie dread we got from classic films like creature from the black lagoon and even the wolfman in terms of bringing us a monster like figure with original narrative roots rather than violent, if not grotesque, execution we’ve gotten from the post-Thing and slasher genre.