Failure to communicate

The two contenders met, with all their troops, on the field of Camlan to negotiate. Both sides were fully armed and desperately suspicious that the other side was going to try some ruse or stratagem. The negotiations were going along smoothly until one of the knights was stung by an asp and drew his sword to kill the reptile. The others saw the sword being drawn and immediately fell upon each other. A tremendous slaughter ensued. The chronicle . . . is quite specific about the point that the slaughter was excessive chiefly because the battle took place without preparations and premeditation.
-Herman Kahn, On Thermonuclear War (as quoted by Tom Clancy, The Sum of All Fears)


It has long been apparent that a large percentage of horrible incidents could be avoided by clear and honest communication.  Many stories have been told that demonstrate this principle in poignant and thought provoking ways.

Tucker and Dale isn't one of them.

For those of you who enjoy dark comedies, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a must-see.  Take the standard characters from every college slasher flick, drop them in the woods with two hillbillies and watch the two sides slug it out.  Sort of.

Basic premise:

**The following might possibly be construed as spoilers, but only of the first 15 minutes.**

Tucker and Dale go to their recently purchased, fixer-upper lakeside cabin in the Appalachians.  Their paths cross with a group of college students, including one, Allison, which Dale immediately develops a crush on, but then scares away by introducing himself while holding an over-sized sickle.  Tucker and Dale retire to their cabin, and the kids set up camp at the same lake.

The two groups paths once again cross when Tucker and Dale go fishing that night, and the college kids decide to go skinny dipping.  Being the quintessential nice guy, Dale averts his eyes upon seeing Allison undressing and tells Tucker to do the same.  This is arguably the root mistake of the film, as Allison hears them arguing and turns, slipping on the rock and falling into the water.  When Tucker and Dale rescue the unconscious Allison, her friends, who have obviously watched too many slasher flicks, assume that she's been captured.  Egged on by their de facto leader, they subsequently declare war upon the hillbillies.  If only Dale had just enjoyed the show, lives would have been saved.

For the record, I would have also averted my eyes...at some point...eventually...maybe.

Dude, it's Katrina Bowden!

**End things that might be considered spoilers**

The ensuing mass confusion leads to a classic slasher film, with the constant background question, "Isn't someone going to ask, 'Does this make sense'?"

Thankfully, no one does--mostly due to the fact that the one character who might spends most of the movie concussed--, otherwise we would miss a really, really witty movie full of horrible tactics (you charge that one with a ballpoint pen), comically cliche deaths (because every movie with a wood-chipper since Fargo  involves red spray), and even more Katrina Bowden.

5 stars, possibly more.