While exploring off-trail on Coon Mountain in the breathtaking Adirondacks, college seniors Jack and Mason stumble upon a mysterious cave, concealed behind a curtain of tangled vines. Excited by the discovery, they return days later with their friends for a once-in-a-lifetime private Halloween party in its shadowy depths. But beyond the laughter, booming music, and crackling campfire, something stirs. Something ancient. Something ravenous. Their arrival has awakened a presence that has waited in the shadows for years—hungry for its favorite meal.
This Halloween, the party ends when the screaming starts.
This was a fantastic effort that has quite a lot to like about it. The intriguing setup provides a fine way of getting into the cave, where it spends the first half delving into the friend group, preparing for the party. As we see the group going through their series of studies, school work, and general state of living in their relationships helps to give this the kind of starting point which gives this a lot to like, getting in depth with the couples who are going through the struggles of college life and extracurricular activities between them as well as the first stages of the party being set up for the end of the week. This might end up feeling a bit too long in the first half with the scale of the group going through the motion as it does with the stragglers getting to see their different activities throughout the week before the party when the more important part is the celebration, but it's a minor issue since it gives us a chance to know the group before then.
Once it gets to the party and we see them getting to the cave, this turns into an effectively enjoyable and likable creature feature. The history of the cave and what the creatures living there are like creates a strong starting point for what's going on as they start to get attacked, leading to the frantic encounters within the tunnels and underground caverns within the mountain. We get just enough in that regard to make the different encounters feel quite dark and chilling as they circle the group, slowly picking them off one by one in a creepy location, causing plenty of carnage and bloodshed along the way, as the confrontations display an ingenious ability to transform victims into more like them. It's a feverish quality that helps overcome the sluggish first half getting there and creating plenty of fun that makes everything a really great time overall.
4.5/5
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