Wither

Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: August 20, 2013.
Director: Sonny Laguna, Tommy Wiklund
Cast: Patrik Almkvist, Jessica Blomkvist, Johannes Brost, Sanna Ekman, Lisa Henni
Year: 2012
Purchase From Amazon

The Movie:

Co-directed by Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund, Wither introduces us to Ida (Lisa Henni) and Albin (Patrik Almkvist), a married couple who head to Albin's parents place for dinner to discuss an upcoming vacation the couple intends to embark on with some friends. Albin's father gives him the keys to a cabin in the woods that he insists has been abandoned for years. After the young lovebirds make a few calls to a few friends, they're off.

Once they get to the rundown old shack and mouth off to a local weirdo peering at them through the woods, Marie (Jessica Blomkvist) sneaks into the back in an attempt to scare her friends but soon encounters something in the darkness. Once her eyes start rolling back in her head and she turns violent, the vacationers find out that what she has is not only dangerous, but highly contagious. Thankfully that old weirdo, whose name is Gunnar (Johannes Brost), shows up in time to help. It seems that what's happened to Marie also happened to his wife and daughter and that they only way to take care of the problem is to kill the victim before the infection or possession or whatever it is that's afflicting them can spread. From here on out, things get very gory…

This one takes a little while to get going but once it does, it's a decent low budget splatterfest that makes great use of some impressively gooey practical effects work (which is in turn complimented by some almost completely unnoticeable computer generated tweaks - you won't even notice them, this looks like it was done completely in camera). And it's those effects that make Wither worth watching. The story is very familiar and nothing we haven't seen before and the acting is decent enough but honestly nothing to write home about. The gore, however, is magically delicious. Lips are bitten off of faces, limbs are severed from bodies, heads are cut off, bullets explode into squibtastic muck and it all gets pretty nasty by time the end credits role.

But is it enough? Yeah, if you're not looking for anything deep. A few of the characters are likeable and a few are not, so you get to root for who you want to see make it to the end and who you want to turn into cannon fodder. Some of the jump scares are effective enough and for a movie made on limited funds, the filmmakers manage to conjure up some decent atmosphere, particularly in the last half hour or so.

BUT… character development is minimal. Nobody gets much of a back story but most won't mind so much even if the movie would have been better for it. Ultimately this one borrows a lot from both Raimi's Evil Dead and Lamberto Bava's Demons but at least it does it well. Originality be damned, this is a fun watch if you don't mind style over substance or effects over acting. It's flawed in the way that most 'homage' style movies are (we've seen this before) but as far as superficial entertainment goes, you'll do alright with this one.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Wither looks good in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen as it appears on this DVD. There's been some fake print damage style effects placed overtop in a few scenes that didn't really need to be there and that doesn't serve to make this look like a vintage horror movie at all but outside of that, the picture is solid. Detail is about as good as standard definition will allow for and colors look well defined, black levels too.

The Swedish language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track, which comes with optional English language subtitles, is good stuff. There's a fair bit of rear channel action in the more intense scenes that helps to build atmosphere and that do some interesting things with the placement of the sound effects and score used throughout the movie. Dialogue stays clean and clear and the levels are properly balanced. All in all, a nice active and aggressive mix that compliments the movie as it should.

The main extra on the disc is a featurette entitled Wither: Behind The Scenes. It's a good look at what went into making the movie, from how the sets were created to how some of the makeup was handled to how the cast relaxed by playing golf! It's more or less a fly on the wall style piece, there isn't much in the way of formal interviews here but at thirty two minutes in length, it's got some good stuff to show you. Aside from that, we get a nine minute deleted scene (unfinished without proper audio or finished effects work) that was cut for pacing reasons, a trailer for the feature and trailers for a load of other Artsploitation Films releases alongside the requisite menus and chapter selection options. Inside the keepcase are some liner notes that include an interesting essay on the film by Ryan Clark that makes the case for its Evil Dead inspired tactics and an interview with directors Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund conducted by Travis Crawford. The interview also discusses the movie's ties to Scandinavian mythology and includes a few choice stills and images from the movie.

The Final Word:

Wither isn't a film that even tries to be original, instead it gives you pretty much exactly what it promises - an Evil Dead inspired 'teens get slaughtered in the woods' style story with gore galore and some decent jump scares. It's all superficial and it never strives for depth, and while that doesn't really do the movie any favors, this is an enjoyable enough popcorn movie. Artsploitation's DVD looks good, sounds great, and offers up a few supplements too. A nice package overall.