While legions of “internet critics” are standing ready with their rubber “torture porn” stamps, it is a breath of fresh air that films like Timber Falls are still hitting our DVD shelves. While it features plenty of torture scenes, it is not as explicit as Eli Roth’s Hostel or the Saw franchise; a simple fact that should save it from being stamped with the overused term. However, I am sure that the hordes of overzealous “critics” would be quick to still label it as such.
Imagine if Kathy Bates from Misery had a husband and a deformed sibling and you have Timber Falls, another backwoods hiking trip gone wrong where a couple quickly discovers that sometimes staying in the city may be safer than going out to the woods. Sheryl (Brianna Brown) and her boyfriend are kidnapped then forced into a demented mating ritual that would only make sense in a horror film. While the motivations and tactics of this screwed-up family raise a few eyebrows, if you are able to suspend your disbelief (a requirement of enjoying any genre film) then Timber Falls is an entertaining enough ride, or what I like to call a “rental gem,” that one crappy looking movie you take a chance on that turns out not to be so bad.
Even though Timber Falls is short on surprises, the higher-end acting, production values, and well-done kills are enough to make you remember why it is sometimes hard to support micro-budgeted films. It avoids that cheap shot on DVD feel and boring dialogue that plagues so many movies of its kind. Instead of wishing death on the cast because you can’t stand the characters and lame one-liners, you will find yourself rooting for Josh Randall (Sheryl’s Boyfriend) one of the more enjoyable horror victims in recent memory. There are no stupid blondes running up the stairs instead of out the door in this one, just two people who are screwed and caught up in a deadly game with no foreseeable way out. If you feel annoyed by Timber Falls it is because it is doing a good job of making you feel hopeless, instead of just setting up unexplainable scenarios for people to be killed off one by one.
While Timber Falls offers nothing new to the genre, it is a solid addition to an ever growing pile of copycat horror/thriller films. As a horror fan you can’t ask for much more, because let’s be honest, they all can’t be gold, especially considering there is a lot more piles of crap being produced than there are decent watchable horror films these days. Timber Falls is on the better end of that pile.
