Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer

When is ghostly vengeance justified?  I’d say pissing on someone's gravestone not once but twice is grounds for some supernatural payback.  And that’s exactly what happens in Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer (2024), a decidedly anti-A24 throwback to the ‘80s traditions of big boobs, demonic possession and low-budget ingenuity.

When Cassie and company arrive at their Airbnb, they’re greeted by your standard creepy old man (played by former Party of Five poster boy Jeremy London), strange noises in the woods and a tattered diary full of pentagrams and incantations.  But instead of leaving a bad review, they decide to toss the old book on the fire, roast some marshmallows and get their money’s worth.  Which they do, in blood…mwahahahaha!

Written, directed, produced and co-starring Brian Krainson, an Atlanta-based stunt coordinator with credits on Ozark and the vampire spoof Renfield, this is really just a demo reel of wire-work, stair stunts and car crashes.  And in that respect, it’s pretty impressive.  The cast of nobodies is yanked, pulled, tugged, shaken and stirred with reckless abandon as the J-horror inspired witch teaches them a lesson in renter’s liability.  The short running time (just over an hour) is padded with flashbacks to previous victims who met the same fate.

As a horror film, it’s a total fail.  The dialogue is mostly improvised F-bombs with a bit of exposition thrown in as needed. But as a bit of regional tomfoolery designed to impress the next film crew that comes to town, it’s not bad at all.  Not to mention lead actress Jennifer Barlow’s uncanny resemblance to a slutty Scarlett Johansson.  The next time ScarJo needs a stand-in for her adult film work, this is the girl to call.

Released strictly on DVD (no Blu-ray for you!), Fear Cabin still looks presentable and professional.  The crew certainly knew their business as documented on the behind-the-scenes special features and director’s interview tacked on as extras.
 

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