Story: An anarchic, hip-hop inspired comedy that follows four city boys on a wilderness trek as they try to escape a mysterious huntsman.
Those who know me know I'm not a big fan of comedies and even though I enjoy the occasional funny horror, is very rare. I've enjoyed some meta ones like The Cabin In The Woods or the entire Scream franchise, but I just get turned off if it's not done properly. Hence, why Get Duked! did not work for me as a whole. Still, that's not to say this is a bad movie. Get Duked! is a totally enjoyable experience, if a bit predictable, but a creative and sometimes bizarre trip with that peculiar UK humor.
Beautifully shot in some splendid locations and a cool hip-hop soundtrack that strangely fits into the story being told. You'll get sucked into the music video-ish editing which is probably one of the best parts I noticed. The editing is sharp.
Storywise we've heard this one before, specially if you watch as much horror as I do, but its not so much the destination as it is the journey. We're met with a group of likable & lively characters who come across annoying at first but warm-up as we come close to the ending. You'll end up cheering for them as you get to know them. It also helps that the actors involved give strong performances. Granted aside of Kate Dickie (The VVitch), James Cosmo (Game Of Thrones), and Eddie Izzard (Hannibal) .... I've never heard of most of them before but they do a good job at keeping you invested. Samuel Bottomley (Tyrannosaur) plays the smart one, Viraj Juneja (Vera Tv series) plays a pretentious Dj, Rian Gordon (Final Score) is the tough one and Lewis Gribben (T2 Trainspotting) plays the idiot.
What keeps me from completely loving this one are just a couple of things: *SPOILERS*
The body count is way too low. I wasn't expecting this to be Hostel Part 1 gory, but they could've raised the stakes by killing one or two central characters.
Because of the first reason I felt no tension whatsoever as I knew our main characters we're not in any danger.
The humor sometimes gets way too goofy and silly for my tastes.
The hunters are not scary in any way. Mainly because of how they're portrayed.
There's a generational message deep within the skin of Get Duked! dealing with Millenials & Baby Boomers that I found very interesting but I found the delivery too in your face, specifically during a speech near the third act. This is something I tend to criticize from modern movies. You can make your film as political, inclusive, or modern as you want but don't preach to us. That's why I don't go to churches anymore. Period.
I can see this becoming a cult classic maybe in a couple of years if it finds an audience as it is an overly enjoyable flick.
Here's the trailer:
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