Viewed – 29 April 2016  Blu-ray

Yes I watched this and yes I’m on a bit of a horror binge of late.  This decidedly silly concept movie has been getting a bit of buzz on the ‘horror scene’.  Three girls decide to get away from it all and head off to a secluded cabin near a lake.  However following the accidental spillage of some toxic chemicals into said lake, a group of resident beavers start to take on ravenous, zombie characteristics.

It’s a seriously daft idea for a movie but done tongue planted firmly in cheek and jam-packed with an infectious sense of humour and a love for genre horror.  We get horny teens, boobs, blood and carnage and a few clichés like the bitch, the nerd and the girl getting over her boyfriend cheating.  Effects are passable, with the animatronic / stop-motion beavers themselves proving effective, but with a low budget the lack of invention to the kills is jarring and some mutant zombie / human / beaver hybrid action only just makes up for this.  The script does however have some good one-liners and a few decent pay-offs and it’s all done with plenty of enthusiasm.  Acting is serviceable at best, and I’d have liked a bit more character to the girls and their horny boyfriends … but in the end you’re just waiting to see who gets killed next and in what way.

Yet this still manages to be a lot of fun.  It knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else.  A bit more money thrown at the effects would have given this more of a status to stand alongside say, Evil Dead 2 or Piranha 3D.  Yet for what it is, this still deserves to be seen – just bring plenty of beer, popcorn and friends and you’ll have a blast.

Verdict:  3 /5