Deer Crossing (2012)

Pretty Good

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is literally the worst movie I have ever seen. Poorly unrealistically written dialog, odd cinematography and some of the worst acting ever seen in a film. The girl playing the FBI agent is a joke. She is quite obviously married to or dating the director because there is no way anyone would hire someone with no ability! As a matter of fact other than the likes of poor Ernie Hudson and Doug Bradley I would suspect that the entire cast was related to or close friends with this Christian Jude Grillo person. Not that it's something that really matters but really, drop the middle name. It's pretentious and makes you look like a 12 year old would be film maker who is trying to appear to be mature and important. Back to the "stars" in this film. Doug Bradley and Ernie Hudson had to have been tricked into doing this movie. There is no way that they saw this script, complete with dialog worded in a way that no one actually speaks) and still signed on to do it. It could not have been for the money since this film could not have cost any more than $500 tops. This may, to some, sound like I have an ax to grind or some personal beef with this film or it's creator but that's simply not the case. What I do have a personal issue with is when someone scams me out of my hard earned money. I actually bought this catastrophe and never expected it to be this awful. It's funny but not the kind of funny that makes it one of those movies that are so bad that they become good, in a sense. No sir. It's funny in a pathetic sort of way. Funny that these people made this movie, and then released it, believing that it's a good film. Funny, again in a sad way, that someone actually invested money into it in order to get distribution for it. I suppose they sort of won though, didn't they? Poor fools like myself shell out the money to buy this trash so they win and we lose but it's a temporary win for them. It's temporary because it then falls into the "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" realm. I would never again purchase any movie created by Grillo nor any produced by or distributed by anyone connected to this film. And I am certain that I am not alone with this line of thinking. Therefor, the last laugh is on all of us poor fools who laid down the cash to buy this and we are laughing at those connected to it since it's the last time they'll get any of our money!I do not participate in illegal movie downloading but I have to say that it's movies like this that lead people to illegally download it and other films like it. Why would anyone pay for such garbage once they've learned the truth about it? Now that may lead you to ask me "Why would anyone even wish to see it now that they've been told how awful it is?" and the only logical excuse I could find would be one that is similar to a car crash. As you drive my an accident you have a morbid curiosity that makes you crane your neck to take a look in an attempt to see how bad it all is. That must be why anyone else would now wish to see Deer Crossing, or any of Grillo's films, past, present or future, after learning that the guy cannot write nor direct a film? In closing I'll just say that if you feel I was being harsh here I'd like you to know that I was actually quite kind. This is the less critical review of the two that I wrote for this "film". The first was far more detailed but I opted to play nice and go with what you have just read, because, although I may be blunt in life, I sometimes try to play it kindly and not blast with both barrels blazing. Perhaps I should have yanked that band-aid off quickly rather than the slow, more painful way that I've removed it here but hindsight is 20/20 and this has been written and so it shall stand.One last note! I have read all of the comments and reviews on this page and the external reviews posted at the top as well. It's quite clear that many of the on-site reviews have been written by people close to those involved in the production. Perhaps family members and friends and also, and quite likely, written by the likes of the film's director and others on the cast/crew using pseudonyms.

First of all I have to say the very second you begin watching Deer Crossing it draws you into its sick and depraved little world. This is not so much a horror film as it is much more than that. It's a psychological thriller that is uniquely disturbing. There are so many intense moments in this film leaving you feeling very uneasy. Writer/Director Christian Grillo pulls no punches in that respect. Just about every scene was superbly crafted as if it was the most important scene in the film. In regards to the film's cast, there are some seriously stellar performances by some familiar talent including Doug Bradley ("Hellraiser"), Ernie Hudson ("Ghostbusters"), Christopher Mann (HBO's "The Wire" & "Michael Clayton") and Laura Lynn Cottrel ("The Replacements" & "Booley"). However as good as these actors' performances were, I was most impressed by K.J. Linhein who portrays Lukas Walton, the story's main antagonist. To put it simply this character is very evil and very real. There is nothing cerebral or mysterious about him. Lukas Walton is a monster that you will never want to know or ever associate with. Another notable performance is that of Carmela Hayslett who portrays the Child Interrogation Specialist, Olivia Brice. The empathy in her eyes when 14 year old Cole played by Kevin Fennell explains his experience is heart breaking and even the most hardened of souls watching this film can relate to her emotion in this particular scene. Overall Deer Crossing is a very entertaining film that keeps you enthralled with side stories and some truly twisted twists that culminate very well at the end. There is a sequel in the works which I was excited to hear since there is more to the story of Cavin County that needs to be discovered.

Gobsmacked! I've seen some pretty ropey films in my time - but this was undeniably the worst film I've ever had the misfortune to come across.It was sooo shockingly atrocious I felt compelled to create an account in the hope that may I spare some other poor, bored soul the horror of this travesty of motion picture. You'd be better off listening to long, haggard nails being scratched across a blackboard whilst sticking pins into your eyes! There are so, so, sooo many terrible things about this film I don't even know where to begin! Suffice to say - a classroom of kinder-gardeners could of come up with a less hackneyed, more plausible plot and the furniture in their classroom would of provided a less wooden cast. Seriously awful. The mind boggles at the hours, money and effort wasted on this steaming pile of so-called cinema. What's more disturbing is the plethora of good reviews on this site. Either, this film infects a large proportion of it's viewers with some sort of mind-numbing, intellect-ravishing perception virus, or, more likely - the brain-dead people responsible for giving birth to this inbred abomination of a film are trying to big-up their celluloid catastrophe. Either way, if you have any semblance of a brain cell and wish to keep it that way - avoid like the plague!

Some of "Deer Crossing" will put off a lot of people, mostly women. The good news is that this movie goes pretty far on the exploitation scale to please hardcore fans of low budget crime/horror fans. It's like a Jack Ketchum story line, mixed with classic moments of pathos with rich characters that will not be forgotten. "Bad Day at Black Rock" and "In the Heat of the Night" are inspired and classic movies that are reworked into something new and frightening. A mother and young boy get lost on the way to grandmothers house. An accident brings them captive by a real monster, Lukas Walton. A farmer with a perverse habit of collecting women for his psycho-sexual pleasure. After years of torture, and raising the young boy as his own, a retired lawman comes to sleepy Carvin County for closure to this lost case. A former cop that does not fit in (yes, he is black and Carvin County is a hotbed of racist white folk). The local sheriff has his hands full with the local thugs and bikers that rule this nightmare town. A drug addict sheriff is a puppet to a lady pimp and her lunatic henchman. But Luke Walton is connected somewhere in the mix, with an interloper snooping around his homestead. Christian Jude Grillo lays it all out on the screen. No holds barred! That's his style, and his first film "Booley" was a prime example of his mindset. It's off the charts with the brutality. The jewel in the Cracker Jack prize bag is K.J.Linhein as our real life monster, Luke Walton. A asset to making a great movie is it's villain, and Grillo found a great actor here. Filling in the main role of troubled hero is Christopher Mann (Booley alum) as the cop. Excellent support from "Hellraiser" star Doug Bradley as the corrupt lawman in the way. Tom Detrik (Booley's titular star) brings a fine turn as Dick (one-eyed loony with a long knife) and guest star Ernie Hudson in an extended cameo. The movie is not perfect.... and some performances are miscast, but it does not hurt the movie. Down and Dirty, for it's worth. Grungy scenes will make you squirm.