Makes hey out of the traditional gender narrative rather than the politically correct one: the males here are still expendable cannon fodder ("I need you, now go die for me", "Son, when I'm gone, take care of your mom"), but at least they're not portrayed as "toxic" in return for their sacrifice. For a creature feature, it spends way too much time lingering on dad's tears (did we really need two shots of the empty bed to drive the point home that one of his children died?). A few dumb things make it hard to suspend disbelief. For example bears don't walk on two legs as a rule and animals don't leave tracks on asphalt like mud is extruding from glands in their feet. The character interactions come off like a made for TV movie and are totally unbelievable, with tropes galore (wise old bartender, check; "I see your wife at church, my son, but I haven't seen you lately", check; etc.). The only person one can faintly identify with is Donny the deputy, who was played decently and is the only character that might be more than a meme. The creature itself, well...it was better off screen than on, as per usual. But when it did show up, it made the central conceit of the first part of the movie (the tracks) look ridiculous. Those feet could not have made those tracks, nor the clopping sounds that accompanied its movement. It's like they had two different teams working on the movie and the creature design, and they never communicated with each other. Two stars for the "pecker" scene, which was entertaining at least. Oh, and there was a "twist" at the very end that will, like, totally blow your mind or something.

This is what I like in a 'horror' movie - suspense, solid acting, and an interesting story that is well-told. Is it excellent? It's not the great movie ever made. But it's good enough that I've watched it a few times because I genuinely like the movie.

Kevin Durand is solid. He's a tormented man in this movie and it shows- he goes through the movie looking like he hasn't slept in months, and it's perfect for his character. We get just enough of what's going on in his life to know why he is the way he is. Not too dramatic, but enough. Perfect. I love Kevin in every movie I've seen him in - I thought he did particularly well in "Legion" as the tormented angel Gabriel. Really well done. In this movie, he turns in another excellent performance. Love watching him.

Bianca Kajlich is excellent in her role as his confused and tormented wife, while trying to be strong for the family. I never thought much of her until I saw her in this. Well done.

Lukas Haas is the real gem here - that little kid from "Witness" grew up to be a stellar actor. His performance is sublime - never over the top, very genuine. He's fantastic.

The little kid in the story is the weak link. He's a whiny brat - not sure how else to put it. Typical over-acting little kid.

Overall, everyone in the movie puts in a solid, steady performance, including the two minor characters "Jim" and "Earl". They made an excellent supporting cast.

Sit down, get a bowl of popcorn, and prepared to be spooked. Safe for kids 10 and over - anything under that, I'd watch it at the end. Scary monsters. But still a genuine family-safe horror story with no cussing, no sex. Enjoy!

I have only seen Kevin Durand as a supporting actor, wanted to see what he was like as the lead. Overall I enjoyed the film, I rented it for something new and was not disappointed for once. I thought the movie was entertaining and worth the rental.

SPOILER ALERT: I think the movie does wait a bit long to tell you why he is so depressed, but when you find out it is the loss of his child while he was supposed to be watching, well as a father I can feel that and connected to his acting very well.

SPOILER ALERT: The movie does not let you see the creature until near the end, but it plays it up good without having to see it, suspense and terror are nicely done in the scenes. At first I agreed with other commenters about the "cheesy" appearance of the creature, assuming the same CG shop was used that SyFy uses in all their junk. After watching a couple of times I realized the creature was designed to look like tree bark, which makes sense since the things live in the trees. You don't get to see this since it is only implied when they are in the trees, you never get to see one in a tree to make the connection. Without this connection, the creature does look a bit cheesy and out of place.

There was so much potential with this movie and the premise. Not to mention, the quality of the film and the acting were both really good. Putting aside how monumentally boring it is, the film fails to create or build any suspense whatsoever. This is not helped, by the way, by Amazon's x-ray feature. That lovely thing let me know the name of the actor who portrays the monster. Thanks for killing one possible element of suspense Amazon.
Anyway, the movie could have used a second or fifth draft, to address these issues:
1. The Native American legend of the Wendigo in some useful way, like how to fight or kill them. Mentioned, not used. Swing and a miss!
2. The displaced deputy from NYC could have had some old gear, for riots, that would include flash bangs which could have scared the monster off...leads to point 3...
3. The glaring plot hole that no one noticed the lights and sirens scared it off! Wow, way to miss that one. Where is CPT Obvious when you need him?
4. A small rural town and almost no one owns a gun? That is the one piece of comedy in the entire film...and it was unintentional.

Seriously, do not ruin your time with this. Go see a dentist instead. You will at least have something to show for it.

Now I have never seen a Bigfoot, DOG MAN, ALEINS, etc. BUT, I have done tons of research on them all. Do I believe in them? I WANT to believe in GOD. I've never seen him or recognized proof of HIM. But I keep my mind open about HIM, because I've done tons of research on HIM. Many people definitely believe in HIM. I suspect HE is real. Now there's all these creatures I spoke of in the beginning of this report and there may be other creatures in addition. I've seen hundreds of testimonies of people who have seen these creatures. Are they all fake? Maybe they are. BUT, what if some of these reports are real. Is it fair to judge NOT where as some of us MAY HAVE?
Now, I'm not suggesting there are creatures just like in this movie. But, when I compare this movie to Bigfoot, it looks to me that the writer was doing a comparison. This movie rings a bell! Should I believe in Bigfoot and these other creatures? Or is the writer doing a comparison. People are discovering new surprises every day.
What I'm trying to get at is don't judge NOT, when things could be TRUE. Science says to only believe in what is proven by science. If not proven by science, does that prove they aren't real? NO, NO, NO! The idea here is KEEP YOUR MIND OPEN to the possibility. Anything is possible! Don't be a DOUTING THOMAS! Be a believer in MAYBE! When you drive your car, you don't believe you will be in an accident. But there are times when most of us have. Believe in the possibility! Don't let your guard down! Just as you keep an eye out on other drivers to prevent an accident, keep your mind open to the possibility that anything is possible. Do I 100% believe that I spelled all the words in this report correctly? No, I believe that anything is possible. I rest my case!
Gene

This movie had some serious build up of suspense, and the acting by the main characters was excellent, however as good as it was for grabbing you and not letting go, it loses a star for two major flaws:

the first and most obvious one, is that, throughout the movie, the creature is playing this peek-a-boo game, when in fact, it was so ridiculously powerful, that there was no need for it not to just take charge of this vulnerable humans from the get go.

Secondly, and this is a major spoiler alert: There is more than one of them, in fact, MANY more, which normally wouldn't be the worst plot device, but the way it is shown in the end, takes a lot away from everything the townspeople fought for throughout the movie.

There could be a "saved by the bell" follow up, if there were a sequel, but assuming there won't be, the ending will leave you highly unsatisfied......

But back to the positives: Kevin Duran is establishing himself as a multi talented very serious character actor that dominates every scene he is in, whether he is the good guy, as in this film, or a rabid bad guy as in PRIMAL......Lukas Haas is all grown up now and playing mature parts but is still a very good actor....and they slipped in a real honey in Sabina Gadecki: google her to see what I mean......

There is a constant sense of tension throughout this movie that doesn't let you go....it will be unnerving to watch for many!

THIS IS SUCH A FINE FILM THAT I KEEP WATCHING IT OVER AND OVER. IT IS SCARY, THRILLING, AND HAS ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT ACTING. THE CAST IS LED BY KEVIN DURAND, AND THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS, WHO IS A SUBTLE,
UNDERSTATED ACTOR, MUCH LIKE CLINT EASTWOOD WAS, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, AND NICK CAGE. ALL ARE MEN OF FEW WORDS. LUKAS HASS, OF WITNESS, BRICK, AND OTHER MAJOR FILMS IS KEVIN DURAND’s DEPUTY AND IS AS ALWAYS, SPECTACULAR. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, DURAND IS THE LEAD ACTOR. SO MANY OF YOU ARE FAR TOO BRIGHT, IN FACT,
BRILLIANT, THAT I DARE NOT TELL TOO MUCH OF THE PLOT. BUT, MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES AND UNUSUAL EVENTS ARE
HAPPENING IN A SMALL TOWN, AND AN ELEMENT OF SURPRISE IS BREWING. ENJOY THIS GREAT FILM. TRUST ME. ENJOY.

I'm a big fan of the horror genre, but the glut of found footage movies shot with someone's borrowed camera, one dimensional actors, and the use of gore and naked women, usually teens, have made finding a horror movie worth watching to the end a real task. I rented this only because Kevin Durand was the lead. He surprised me with the quality of his acting in "The Strain", and surpassed that with his performance as a troubled, grieving husband, haunted by the death of his child, and determined to protect his remaining son, and the people in his town. The supporting actors were also good, but I had the impression that they may have been working on a lean budget with the lack of extras - the town seems almost deserted throughout the movie. The pace was slow, but still had it''s moments that made me sit up suddenly - it wasn't a film that will have you leaving the light on when you go to bed, but still, a solid performance all around. I didn't give it a 5 star rating because while it built tension throughout the movie it was easy to see where it was going to peak. Also, the special effects ... well, like I said, I think they had a pretty small budget for the film. I was just glad to see solid characters who weren't completely one dimensional, and good acting. I won't make this a spoiler, but the last 4 seconds made me say, "Oh, come on!" - you'll understand when you see it - and if horror is your thing, you really should see it.