27. Movie Review - Never Hike Alone

Hey All! 

After being away for travel reasons, I'm back! Hope you didn't miss me too much. And I'm sure that in the meantime, you all curled up with your copies of Haunt to hold yourselves over. 

I finally got my blu-ray copy of Never Hike Alone: A Friday the 13th Fan Film after donating to Womp Stomp Films' campaign to fund their fan packages for the film. I'd heard nothing but great things about their fan film, and while it is available to watch for free on YouTube, I waited until my physical copy came in, because, why would I make things simple for myself? 

Check out my review of Never Hike Alone below! 

Loving the signed note from Womp Stomp Films! Great package. Feat. my increasingly-problematic steelbook collection in the background.

A love letter to the Friday the 13th franchise, Never Hike Alone delivers stunning cinematography, exciting action, and tons of callbacks to the classic films. Plus, we get a special guest appearance that I won't spoil for you here! 

The film follows adventurist Kyle McLeod (Andrew Leighty) as he takes a solo backpacking trip, recording periodically for his online followers. But he soon learns he's not alone when he stumbles upon the long-deserted Camp Crystal Lake.  

I will say I was pretty impressed by Leighty's performance. I expected him to be just another stubborn horror-movie-man, refusing to listen to

all the obvious signs of danger that throw themselves his way. But his background as an experienced hiker lends to his survival skills, as well as his responsiveness to scary situations. I thought that was perfect writing for a character with limited story. That's not to say that there are no cheesy moments; we often see him trip over things, and some of the interactions between him and the looming Jason Voorhees get pretty... campy (I'm so sorry, but that needed to be said). 

Now, Never Hike Alone is a simple movie. It's short, sweet, and gets to the point. It isn't a full-length feature film, after all. But everything it packs within its short 54 min runtime is everything one could hope for in a fan film. And it's clear that those behind the scenes are dedicated Friday the 13th fans. I'm glad a film like this has gained the traction that it has, and it only makes me more excited to check out the fan projects that follow in its footsteps. It's certainly better than a number of films from the original franchise! Never Hike Alone is fun, intense, and refreshing. It's certainly worth a watch. 

Have you seen Never Hike Alone? What did you think? What are some other horror fan films that I should check out? Leave a comment below. Let's discuss! 

- Ryan
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