Macabre…ish Horror Review: Never Hike Alone

Never Hike Alone, 2017/ 54 min.

Kyle (Drew Leighty) an adventure blogger, is out on a back country adventure, alone. He has an 8 hour, 18 mile trek to his rendezvous point and the trails he’s running is not for amateurs.

He sets up camp and then struggles to familiarize himself with some of his gear and fails to record his episode. Then the wolves start howling and Kyle decides to call it a night.

Day 2 he finds an unmarked trail that is also, not on the map, so he takes it anyway. At the end of the trail, Kyle arrives at a No Trespassing, Private Property sign but don’t worry, he justifies cutting through on his vlog. He immediately feels terrified, like he’s being watched, because he is.

He walks for a while and makes camp just before dusk and finds the old Camp Crystal Lake sign. Then he searches for the old abandoned cabins and finds them. Dilapidated with remnants of the past, photos on the walls, old magazines, picnic tables and the aged remains of slaughter that took place there.

And the entire time he has this eerie feeling that he’s not alone but it doesn’t stop him from camping in the old mess hall. It is clear that Kyle considers the stories about this place, just that, campfire stories. But it does exist. There are tags or ribbons placed all over the property and some evidence of someone having been there and possibly living there, still.

Kyle hits record and combs through the place, chasing down every strange sound to get footage for his vlog. And upon further investigation, he finds out for sure, someone is there, when he’s grabbed from behind and thrown around The Camp.

He get’s a lucky break and runs for the woods, camera still recording. It’ll be full dark soon and Kyle needs his gear and all the luck he can get if he’s going to survive a run in with Jason Voorhees. (Vincente DiSanti also the director).

This is a Friday the 13th inspired fan film. Some pov shaky cam and there’s only 2 people in most of the movie. It is fast paced, there are jump scares and good fight scenes. There’s some blood and little gore but this has that eerie Friday the 13th slasher feel we know and love but with a twist. Very good and unexpected ending. The next one is shorter but never the less very good, find them both on youtube.

Also in this is Thom Mathews, Katie Schwartz, Robert Dubois