Director: Jonas Govaerts
Writer: Jonas Govaerts, Roel Mondelaers (Screenplay)
Starring: Maurice Luijten, Evelien Bosmans, Titus De Voogdt, Stef Aerts, Jan Hammenecker, Gill Eeckelaert
Plot: Over-imaginative 12 year-old Sam heads off to the woods to summer scout camp with his pack convinced he will encounter a monster…and he does.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Shock Filled Horror
Story: Cub starts as we see the monster take his latest victims before we move to meet the scouts going to camp in the same woods, Sam (Luijten) is your typical clumsy scout who just wants adventure while the leaders Kris (Voogdt), Peter (Aerts) and Jasmijn (Bosmans) will be teaching the scouts the great outdoors.
With the adventure in the woods beginning Sam doesn’t take long to make enemies within his group once again when he claims to have seen Kai (Eeckelaert) the legendary werewolf boy who lives in the woods.
It isn’t long before we discover Kai isn’t the biggest threat in the woods and a much deadlier threat could come for the boys, leaving us with a battle for survival.
Thoughts on Cub
Story – The story is about accepting one’s differences while also having the elements of a survival horror. We see how the woods are filled with traps to help the killer fill his blood lust while we see a friendship between the Kai and Sam grow through the film. For horror, this is a simple but effective story telling which is something I did enjoy while watching.
Adventure/Horror – The adventure side of this story comes from how Sam is considered the worst scout of his pack but soon because the only one who can save the others in this story. The horror comes from the mystery about Kai and why the killer is killing people in the woods with his traps.
Characters/Performance – The characters are all designed to be what you would expect from horror with the reluctant hero, the nice and the bad scout leader along with the random eye candy which wasn’t meant to be there but draws the boys attention. The kills is mysterious like you would expect and the Kai character is the strange and unlikely one who easily becomes the face for the film. The performances are all good because you start supporting the characters you are meant to and hating the ones you meant to too, which is where many horrors fall short.
Settings – Nearly the whole film takes place within the woods which creates what you want isolation needed for the horror side of the film.
Special Effects – When you look at the effects, you get to see great kills and a visual look for the Kai character which is something very original looking.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable horror that brings us a potential new iconic figure for the genre.
Overall: This is one of the best underrated horror films that will shock when it needs too.
Rating
