[31 Days of Halloween 2015: CUB, available on VOD and Blu-Ray/DVD from Artsploitation Films]
Review by Bob Ignizio
It sounds like a fairly typical horror film set-up: a group
of scouts and their horny troop leaders head off on a camping trip. Due to
unforeseen circumstances, they decide not to stay at their assigned campsite
and venture a little further into the woods where, unbeknownst to them, danger
and terror await. But CUB is not
cookie-cutter FRIDAY THE 13TH
knock-off. It’s a far nastier, and far more thoughtful animal altogether.
The film’s protagonist is 12 year old Sam (Maurice Luijten).
Sam has evidently survived some kind of horrific family tragedy. As a result,
he’s a little withdrawn and has a tendency to tell tales, but despite the
ordeal his basic decency remains intact. Kids being the cruel bastards they
often can be, however, many of Sam’s fellow scouts bully him, including one of
the scout leader, Peter (Stef Aerts). The other scout leader, Chris (Titus De
Voogdt), and the troop’s chef Jasmijn (Evelien Bosmans) try to look out for
Sam, but they can’t always be there.
