Perhaps director Mitchell Altieri, helmer of the April Fool’s Day remake and After Dark Horrorfest selection The Hamiltons, would not normally be the first choice for freaky wendigo horror. Consumed makes the case for Altieri understanding the basics behind disturbing imagery and framing his scares. Whether the picture manages to break free from mediocrity into quality is another story—the script from first-time screenwriter David Calbert notably provides a fresh angle involving cancer sickness. Devon Sawa also returns to the genre, though sparingly featured within. A mishmash of tones and an underwhelming baddie stop Consumed from being a must-see horror flick, instead destined for the discount bin.
In celebration of her cancer being in remission, Beth (Courtney Halverson) and her husband, Jay (Mark Famiglietti), trek out deep in the woods for an unforgettable camping excursion. They toast to Beth being one year cancer-free, and symbolically burn Beth’s hospital bracelet in a campfire. However, this trip will not be all smiles and emotional reflection. A smokey monster, not unlike the one that plagued the folks on the island for several seasons in Lost, has set its sights on Beth. Apart from regular red-lit nightmares, a very real creature begins to stalk the pair as their vacation turns into fleeing for their lives instead.
Their pursuit through the woods grows tiresome quite quickly, and abruptly worsens when Jay gets stuck in a bear trap. For some reason, after the trap fully snaps on his ankle, Jay takes several seconds to actually react. Rather than just blindly running from smokey, Beth must figure out a way to get help for Jay, lest he lose too much blood. Beth herself hides a secret she has not even disclosed to Jay: the cancer has actually come back, and she is no longer in remission.
Nearly halfway into the runtime, Beth comes upon a mysterious facially-scarred stranger donned in a heavy fur coat. This hunter (Sawa) has been tracking the creature, and though he provides help for Beth and Jay, his intentions remain obvious. He plans to use the duo as bait to bring the wendigo out so that he can finally kill it once and for all. Of course, Beth does not exactly wish to quietly comply. The hunter and Beth clash spectacularly, but in the end the monster must be faced one way or another.
Consumed does admittedly have some creepy imagery, including stitched skin, cancer patients in distress, and nasty decomposing corpses. Sawa steals the show in limited screentime, and Halverson’s Beth makes up for her husband having the personality of a plank of wood. The cancer angle may be the film’s biggest strength, yet it fails to engage with it in any major ways. Iffy creature effects and a shrug of a finale effectively stomp out the goodwill of the rest. I have still yet to see a convincingly effective wendigo movie—a title from Supermassive Games continues to be the best wendigo entertainment I have come across—and unfortunately, Consumed does not manage to buck this trend.
Become completely Consumed by the wendigo, in theaters and On Demand on Friday, August 16th.
