Wendigo



Young Miles and his parents are on a trip to Upstate New York for a quiet little winter getaway in the snow. Only their trip ends up being anything but quiet. Before they even get to their cabin their car hits a deer, and the pursuing local hunters are none too happy about their quarry getting inadvertently off-ed by an outsider. Especially Otis, who is more than slightly peeved that the deer’s antler got cracked in the crash and that Mile’s father George refuses to pay him for it. But even after finally getting to the cabin the weirdness continues. Miles starts seeing strange visions involving the dead deer and the local hunters, and the family is put slightly on edge when they find out not only that Otis lives near the cabin they’re staying at, but that there are also two very suspicious bullet holes through the cabin walls. But while Mile’s parents are convinced that Otis is up to no good, Miles himself begins to suspect that the incidents are the work of the local legend of the Wendigo.



Wendigo (not to be confused with The Wendigo from 2022, that was last week!) is an American independent psychological horror film from director Larry Fassenden, who may be best known for The Last Winter, a film which just so happens to be part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. So a lot of  his films are kind of…arty. Which means, alas, it seems my search for a better Wendigo film continues. Not because Wendigo isn’t good, per say. Because for the most part it’s fine. But mostly because this 2001 film called Wendigo isn’t really about a Wendigo. I mean, it’s there…kinda…. In a rather vague and often dumb looking sorta way. But this is the type of movie with a lot of symbolism and junk. So while the filmmakers may have made the costume, the creature itself isn’t really the focal point. It’s more a movie  about fear and loss and junk and…. Well, you get the idea.



In fact, the Wendigo seen here isn’t really even a proper Wendigo. I mean, I do have to give the filmmakers some credit. They do come a lot closer than most with their description of the creature. When Miles is given totem by a ghost Indian in the drugstore (no, really!) the ghost gives an almost word for word, traditional textbook definition, right down to the growing size and the insatiable hunger. So clearly somebody on set did some homework. But for reasons unknown the movie also leaves out the cannibalism part and implies that the creature will only come after bad people. Or more importantly, George implies that the monster won’t come after Miles because he’s an innocent kid. Which *buzzer sound* is incorrect. Sorry kids, but a Wendigo will eat you. They don’t care.

Point is though, instead of the monster being this physical manifestation of terrifying primordial hunger, for some reason the movie almost turns it into some sort of… I don’t know, avenging spirit? And I suppose they did this because the film is kinda shot from Miles’ perspective, and he’s just a kid, and the movie implies that the monster isn’t even real, just a figment of the kid’s imagination, yadda yadda yadda. But the film is also rated R, with a full sex scene and all, so it wasn’t like the movie was at any point aiming for a younger audience, either. So it’s like they decided they liked the Wendigo motif, implemented a couple vague traits and then went “eh, good enough”, and literally ignored its most defining features. It’s really weird and slightly annoying, cause it feels a bit half-assed. The only thing I truly understand about their decision making process here, was the choice to make the Wendigo much more “deer-like” in order to tie it into Miles’ trauma regarding that buck the family plowed into at the beginning of the film. That  part I understand. Beyond that, they honestly could have supplemented any one of a dozen other types of evil creatures into this film instead, and the movie wouldn’t have really been any different.


So it’s like a… Weredeer? Lovely.

So, suffice it to say that if you go into this hoping for some kind of monster movie, you’re going to be mightily disappointed. Because instead of a monster movie, the film plays out more like the vacation from hell. Run over an animal, get harassed by the locals, have to get towed, get stalked by the locals, deal with a bunch of work calls, the parents are supposed to be there to “reconnect” but that’s not going well, ghost handing out kitschy trinkets at drugstores, there may or may not be monsters in the woods, bang, hospital, oh look the locals really are crazy…. It’s basically the worst 3-day weekend ever that doesn’t involve an actual apocalypse. So expect a lot of drama, and symbolism, and long shots of people staring pensively in various directions. And on top of that it’s all very slow-burn and moody, so those hoping for action are gonna be pretty disappointed, because you don’t get any of that until right up until the end. And then when it does end the movie just STOPS, without any kind of resolution whatsoever. That’s it. End. Roll credits. Because this is the type of movie where I guess they wanted you to ponder shit, or whatever. But while the beginning may be ponderable, the ending is so borked that likely the only real takeaway you’ll get from this movie is how they could come up with such a good beginning and middle, without bothering to nail down any kind of conclusion.


What does this mean? YOU’LL NEVER KNOW!

BUT! on the plus side, even with the often dull story the movie does manage to use the visuals and sound to its advantage, and make the film consistently and almost omnipresently moody. Seriously, this may be one of the most ominous films I’ve ever watched, where so, SO little actually happens with regards to the plot. It’s really amazing. These poor people can’t even sit down to eat breakfast on a nice, sunny morning without it feeling like something bad is going to happen. That’s how good they pinned down the atmosphere here. It’s just a shame they couldn’t always match that feeling with what was happening on screen….or with their monster design.



Oh, and the movie also happens to be surprisingly well acted. Patricia Clarkson and Jake Weber, both of whom are always solid, really help ground the film, even in some of the more melodramatic moments. But even young Erik Per Sullivan (that little kid from Malcolm in the Middle) is pretty good. Granted, he does spend a lot of his time standing around and looking kinda lost and forlorn, but…that’s really his whole character. But hey, he’s also cute and manages to not be annoying, so I take the win where I can.



If you can’t tell, I wasn’t particularly impressed with Wendigo. I mean, it looks and sounds great, and the acting is good (which is always appreciated.) And for the most part it’s okay for what it is, but for every part they thought out, it also feels like they also skipped over something important. Like, it’s got a great beginning and middle, only to feel like they cobbled together an ending at the last minute. And while I’m sure there’s some sort of “profound” reason for that, it still feels kinda annoying and cheap. Even the symbolism feels kinda haphazard. Like, some of it is smoothly included, but then the rest feels like they’re forcefully shoving it down your throat. I mean, really, why are you quoting Robert Frost to a six-year-old? What kind of pretentious ass does that? You could at least try to be more subtle.

But really though, the movie isn’t all bad. It’s just not the type of movie I was hoping it would be. If you’re looking for an arty, more cerebral  horror film, then this is something to try. But if you’re hoping for a monster movie then you’re going to be bummed, even after the monster shows up.

Wendigo Is available on a variety of streaming services.

Wendigo Is also available on DVD.

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