HUSK (2011) Review

Directed by: Brett Simmons

Starring: Devon Graye, C.J Thomason, Tammin Sursok

Cornfields are one of the better locations for a horror film, sure they might seem pretty cliche but just imagine being chased by a relentless killer through acres of corn taller than you are, and trying to find your way out. Scary shit. Unfortunately around the area where I live in Australia there isn't really a whole lot of corn, in fact I'd never seen a real cornfield until I went on a trip to the U.S last year. I went to Ohio, and there is corn fucking everywhere. So I decided to see what it would really be like in a cornfield, and it was just like I imagined. Claustrophobic and as soon as you've gone more than a few metres in you lose all sense of direction. And that was in the middle of the day, I'd hate to be lost in a cornfield after dark.
Scarecrows are another thing I've always felt belong in horror cinema. I think I first realized how creepy they are when I was a kid and read a Goosebumps book called The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight. However the only horror movies I've seen involving scarecrows are Scarecrow Slayer and Scarecrow Gone Wild, which were really, really bad.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've never actually seen a movie that combines the two which I've actually enjoyed. Until now.

HUSK starts out with a very generic formula. A small group of friends are on a road trip, they have an accident (in this case they drive straight into a huge flock of crows) and they are left stranded out in the middle of nowhere. The only things they can see are a long straight road and miles of corn. Before long they realize that one of the party is missing, and once they spot an old dilapidated looking house in the middle of the cornfield they decide that's where he must have gone. He must have gone to get some help, or find a phone or something. You'd think if he were going somewhere he would have told at least one of the others, but no they don't seem to think that's weird at all. So they decide to take a walk through the corn towards the house, but instead of help they stumble upon a killer. I won't say much more regarding the plot, because although this all sounds very cliche and predictable it really isn't. I was expecting them to find a fucked up family of hillbillies who dress in scarecrow outfits and kill people or something, but no.

Some of the writing is a little questionable, with most of the characters doing things that you probably wouldn't do in that kind of a situation, or saying things you probably wouldn't say or even sometimes not doing things that they should be doing. Like panicking maybe.
And when one of the characters suddenly starts having flashbacks which reveal exactly what's going on, it kind of just comes from nowhere and there's no explanation for it at all. Why does he have these visions? How? Why him? Why don't any of the others see them? Who fucking knows.
But even with all of the awkward moments and plot holes I still felt like they didn't detract from the film too much. There are some pretty tense moments, creepy moments and the acting is mostly pretty solid. The effects look really good as well. While it's not one of the best horror films I've seen, HUSK was definitely enjoyable and is perfect for a lazy Sunday or late night movie with friends.