CUB

A good horror film should make you jump within the first five minutes. Cub manages this within around three.

The classic slasher movie opening of a bloodied screaming girl running through the woods was instantly recognisable but suddenly subverted. It was then that a collective jumping-out-of-skins took place in the screening room and the credits opened.

Somewhere in suburban Belgium the Scouts are preparing to go camping. Arkela (Titus De Voogdt) and his bullying partner Peter (Stef Aerts) begin a countdown to get to the bus on time. Whoever is late must do a forfeit and it is 12 year old Sam (Maurice Luijten) who has to do fifty push ups before the gang can leave for the woods. While he is sweating on the floor the Scout leaders warn the boys about an urban myth they have heard, about a werewolf boy called Kai who stalks the woods for prey. The boys laugh until they are told about a couple who went missing a week ago but they decide to brave it anyway and begin their journey into the woods.

On the way they pick up cute female chef Jasmijn (Evelien Bosmans) but soon run into trouble when they clash with a couple of French meatheads on a quad bike in the field they were supposed to camp in. After a minor scuffle they go deeper into the forest until they find a clearing and with the blessing of a rotund, tiny-moped riding Policeman they set up camp for the night. While digging the latrine Sam thinks that he spots Kia and once night falls things take a turn for the worse.

Without giving too much away it seems that the woods are full of traps of some sort and gradually we see periphery characters suffer variously imaginitive fates including the winning combination of fire, a tentfuls of kids and a maniac in a truck. With each inventive scene this gripping film gets increasingly bizarre until it concludes with an interesting double twist that will not be spoilt here.

The score by Steve Moore is excellent and heaps synthesizer dread upon this creepy film. Harking back to the 70's horror soundtracks made famous by Alan Howarth and John Carpenter it shares its musical DNA with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and particularly Halloween. The acting is also superb especially from young lead Luijten, who brings a rabid animalism to the role. It also highlights the bullying heirarchy found inside institutions such as the Scouts which mirror an army mentality.

The only concern with this wonderfully scary treat is that it might and probably will be remade for the US, losing much of its humour and European bleakness. So if you hated Girl Guides, Beavers or adjusting your Woggle around a campfire then Cub may be the film for you. Dyb Dyb Dead.