GUTS ON THE CHAINSAW *** USA 2023 Dir: Ryan Cavalline. 80 mins
With a title like GUTS ON THE CHAINSAW you would be expecting a full on gorefest and while there is a lot of the claret flowing and body parts strewn about this is also a film about a woman discovering herself after past events.
Nikki Carlson stars as Nova a young woman that has nightmares of a masked man chasing her with a chainsaw, an event that she believes happens but others do not because of her history of abusing drugs and alcohol. After a brief stint in rehab and an asylum she decides to return to the scene of her nightmares as suggested by her therapist to tie up some loose ends. A hike through the Appalachian Trail is in order, not only is it a beautiful location but it will give Nova time to clear her mind. As she hikes the trail she writes in her journal her inner thoughts. The trail is very quiet and she only comes across a kooky guy who has penchant for possum jerky and a friendly guy called Chris (Eddie Benevich) who tells her about the folk that live in the Appalachian Mountains and the folklore that surrounds the area. After walking with him for a while they soon part ways with no incident happening but its not long before Nova hears gunshots. Out of fear she runs and comes across another woman terrified who subsequently has every right to be fearful of what is stalking her through the woods. Upon seeing the masked killer Nova runs for her life through the woods and through murky caves until she comes across a house where she hopes to telephone for help, only thing is this is the home of the very people she is trying to escape and end up getting knocked unconscious. Waking up tied to a bed she is confronted by another member of the family who is dressed up as a woman. Naturally fearing for her life, Nova attempts to escape confronting two of this family in and outside of the home in a bloody battle. Her final confrontation is with the masked man of her nightmares and only one of them will be leaving this place alive.
Making great use of all the locations Director Ryan Cavalline has crafted a slasher film that will make you appreciate what he has brought to the screen on a budget that is far away from any big studio slasher film. With its wonderful score and superb camerawork he makes sure to get every penny on screen in this excellent independently shot slasher film. Cavalline also keeps the film from rambling on too long and keeps the film to a nice short running time of 80 minutes, a definite benefit to this sort of film. The special effects are low budget which does show at times but it is a great mixture of practical effects and CGI which he smartly doesn’t linger on too long. The antagonists are a nice mixture of characters as well, sure they maybe heavily influenced by other horror villains especially the chainsaw wielding guy who of course makes you think of Leatherface from THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSARE films but they are all effective and look good on screen. The film is intercut throughout with narration of short tales of other missing people that have perhaps trailed to deep into the mountains, this adds a nice extra layer to the movie making you aware that this place is indeed dangerous. For the most part the film is of course about the character of Nova who is played wonderfully by Nikki Carlson who brings added depth to her character in her facial expressions. Equally showing a distressed character but also showing that Nova has grown throughout the horrifying events towards the final moments of the film. Perfect casting, great locations, suitable amount of gore and a protagonist you can root for, a superb addition to the slasher genre.
Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins