I Didn’t Come Here to Die (2011) review

Young people go into the woods and then they die in the most gruesome of ways, usually at the hands of some psycho out for vengeance. How many times have you read that plot for a film since the 70’s? On the surface, I Didn’t Come Here To Die (IDCHTD) appears to be the same old rehash of a tired idea, which is the hackin’ and slashin’ of teens in the forest. Surprisingly enough, director Bradley Scott Sullivan’s debut feature serves up a whole other beast in his side of the “woods” while still integrating very familiar elements you usually find in these types of flicks. 

A group of young people head deep into the wilderness to perform volunteer work for an organization dedicated towards humanitarian initiatives. In this case, these kiddos are building homes for the less fortunate literally from the ground up. These individuals are from all different walks of life and signed up to volunteer for just as different of reasons. Our cast of characters include the following roster:

The hot boss in charge, Sophia (Emmy Robin)

Level-headed good guy withholding a dark secret, Danny (Kurt Cole)

Shady cat who is strictly there to get laid as much as possible, Chris (Niko Red Star)

Cute hipster chick ready to party, Julie (Indiana Adams)

Overgrown boy scout who looks like Eli Manning, Steve 

(Jeremy Scott Vandermause)

Goody-goody kiss ass, Miranda (Madi Goff)

 Side note: how cool are the names Niko Red Star and Indiana Adams?

Well-diversified and likable cast aside, our film’s villain is where Sullivan really flexes his creativity muscles. Dudes with hockey masks, slaughterhouse loonies and psychotic backwoods hillbillies are all non-existent here. Instead, he offers dumb luck, irony, fate, and the failure to follow basic safety protocol as the antagonists who create the body count by disposing of our characters. It’s actually really freakin’ genius to tell you the truth and at the end of the day, he figured out how to make his film stick out of the millions (and millions) of those that have preceded IDCHTD, while keeping you engrossed and guessing all the way to its conclusion.

The gore is pleasantly outrageous, the acting is pretty good and the murders are the most unique and clever that have appeared on celluloid in some time. Add in some dark humor and you won’t be able to remember the last time you had this much fun watching a horror-comedy, where the balance between the gasps and laughs are played so well off one another. 

There is no better way that Sullivan could have flown out of the gate with his first full length feature, an extremely refreshing take on backwoods teen slasher flicks where the murders are based on stupidity, not madmen. They didn’t come here to die and you don’t want to miss out on the entertainment, so be on the lookout for a film whose distribution acquisition is imminent.

And remember to wear your helmet. 

RATING:

4 out of 5 Creeper Santas

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