The Windigo review
Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. For those who know me you know about my love for horror films so once a month, I’m going to review and discuss a scary flick. We’ll look at the classics, and some new films, and I want your suggestions on what I should review. I’ll do my best to cover all the different genres within the genre – slashers, ghosts, monsters, etc.
SPOILER ALERT! – These will be reviews so if you haven’t seen the movie you’ll want to watch it first before you read this. Let’s do this.
THE WINDIGO
All Wendigo, all the time. When it rains it pours, they say. I’m not complaining though. We got to see a piece of the Native American legend with the Antlers review, but this time it’s all about the legend in Gabe Torres’s film The Windigo. A mother – Claire – gets a distressed call from her Native American Chippewa mother in Michigan and packs up her two kids Ry and Bree in the family minivan and makes the trip from California to Michigan. They arrive at grandmother’s quiet, secluded farmhouse around the holidays. It’s an old house with peeling paint and half a dozen or so homemade dreamcatchers hanging from the front porch. Intricately designed and well placed to start the film. They talk a bit, visit, share stories, etc. Grandmother lives a secluded life at this old property and it’s fairly rustic. No TV, abundant Wi-Fi, or other things we take for granted. No beer and no TV make Homer something, something… Not the exactly the environment two teenagers live for. Ry and Bree are siblings that care for each other but are very different. They head out to explore the woods and run into a meth lab in an old barn. Terrible timing as the cooks are there and attack and try and dump Ry down a sewer. Bree had hidden out when they attacked and comes in to save the day and they escape back to grandmother’s. A visit from the local Sheriff proves odd at best as he seems to know who the attackers are but doesn’t seem to be much concerned with the safety of our teens.
Ry doesn’t want to be picked on and hates the fact that his sister always seems to be the one getting them out of a situation. Grandmother notices this and makes the inevitable offer to call upon the Windigo to help him. They do so in a nighttime ritual and she explains what happened to her as a child and that she can not die except at the hand of the monster. We understand here that she has good intentions to help Ry get revenge on the locals that tried to basically kill him, but things can’t possibly go well here. Grandmother mentions Ry and the Windigo see through each other’s eyes. The beast brutally kills all three meth heads but in a way that is unique. We see shadows of the beast like creature but at the same time see it’s Ry committing the acts as he becomes one with the spirit. Good parallel shots of this action. Ry becomes ravenous and frightens his mom and sister. The last victim is our questionable sheriff before the demon attacks the family. After lighting the beast on fire and an attempt to crush it with a tractor – nothing runs like Deere! – it’s time for grandmother to make the ultimate sacrifice in a spooky, well-lit graveyard to save her family. After the Windigo takes her life, the family buries her, packs their belongings, and heads back to California.
I talked previously about how I really love the story and legend of The Wendigo and take any opportunity to watch the subject matter on screen. It’s such an old, diverse tale that it can go in a lot of different directions and there is always the potential to blur the lines of fact and fiction. But that’s the beauty of a legend – it can be what you believe. I absolutely love the fact that this cast is all Native American to give it a more genuine feel to the story’s roots. Thought Fivel Stewart who plays Bree has a lot of potential. Enjoyed seeing the Windigo being conjured as a revenge device and liked the look of the beast overall. Used quite a few of the classic descriptions and the creature design and action was nice to see. I love bleak, wintry scenery so this film’s atmosphere didn’t disappoint. A niche piece of folklore that I’m sure that others will enjoy. The Windigo is available on most major streaming platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube TV and more.
Enjoy the trailer - https://vimeo.com/897091749/4c24741a79?share=copy