Cub (2014) User Reviews

Beware of the Belgian backwoods from now on

[Coventry · 7/10 · 20 March 2015]

"Welp" generated quite a hype here in our lovely little country of Belgium because it allegedly is the very first horror movie to emerge from here; - or at least from the geographical Dutch speaking part named Flanders. That just isn't true since we previously had horror (and cult) classics such as "Devils of Darkness", "Lucker", "Parts of the Family", "Afterman" and "Engine Trouble". It's even debatable that this is the first horror film to be spoken entirely in Flemish because there exists also "Linkeroever", "Alias", "De Potloodmoorden" and an obscure little dud called "The Antwerp Killer". But, seriously, who cares if it isn't the first? It also isn't the most inventive horror movie and it certainly isn't the greatest horror movie ever made, but what counts most is that "Welp" is inarguably a highly entertaining Belgian horror outing with a tense & gripping atmosphere, strong acting performances and a bit of nasty gore footage. The protagonists in "Welp" are all junior boy scouts, which was a terrific idea of writer/director Jonas Govaerts, as this is a typically Belgian phenomenon. Practically everyone in this country joined some kind of scout federation in their youth. Yours truly didn't, and I can assure you that I was quite the outcast in school because of this. On Wednesday afternoons all my classmates went to the woods to play scout games, while I went home to my couch and watch horror movies that I wasn't allowed to watch yet. Ah, memories…

One of the boy scouts, Sam, is a bit of an outcast as well. On their way to the Southern Belgian backwoods (called "The Ardennes") for their annual survival camp, Sam spots a mysterious shape and secret hideout place between the trees, but nobody believes him. Little Sam is right of course, as the forestry area soon turns out to be the turf of a vicious serial killer and his bewildered infant sidekick. The other cubs constantly humiliate Sam and the scout leaders are too busy with making out and being arrogant, but they won't be able to ignore the deadly booby-traps that are placed all around the woods. "Welp" features a large number of clichés and stereotypes, but I suppose that is almost inevitable when you're making a slasher throwback movie. The parts that are similar to "Friday the 13th" and other classics could also easily be referred to as homages, for that matter. More important is that director Jonas Govaerts perfectly knows the true meaning of the term "horror" and he isn't afraid to break through taboos or insert shocking plot twists. For example, there are a couple of disturbing death sequences involving young children and even a scene where a dog is used as a piñata! Furthermore is the atmosphere of the film continuously macabre and unsettling, with an almost complete lack of humor in the script, but a strong presence of tenebrous camera-work and frightening music. The acting performances are terrific, too. The young actor Maurice Luijten impresses the most, but also Titus De Voogdt and the lovely Evelien Bosmans are very good as the scout leaders. Stef Aerts gives the best grown-up performance as the arrogant and self-centered scout leader Baloo. His behavior might seem exaggerated, but according to several former cub friends of mine, idiotic leaders like him apparently do exist.

Don't go into the Woods

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 10 July 2015]

That's an advice anyone participating in a horror movie should follow. But if they did, we wouldn't have a movie, would we? So if you like a good slasher/horror/backwoods movie, you will "enjoy" this. It won't redefine the genre, but it knows its rules and where to go without losing the audience.

A European horror movie that has the template down, the acting is OK, the effects are really good too. It's not too explicit (only from time to time there's a violence spike), but when it is, you get to see quite a bit of violence. The ending might confuse a few people, but I liked the way it prepared us for what was about to happen ...

Cub was an enjoyable movie, and worth a watch.

[willb-44435 · 7/10 · 2 April 2015]

Cub was a captivating movie, filled with building but nicely crafted suspense. I felt at times that the plot was somewhat predictable, but I still enjoyed myself throughout the movie. The movie itself remains true to the horror genre, whilst mildly delving into the themes of puberty and social acceptance. The movie also packs a satisfying amount of gore, and doesn't blow all of it's atmosphere on pointless jump scares.

The movie does, however, follow some trends and themes set by other movies (which removes from it's originality in my opinion). Most of the characters are also very easy to dislike.

Overall, I would say that this movie is enjoyable and worth a watch, and I applaud it for it's independence and how refreshing it is compared to some of the current horror films around.

Cub (2014)

[morrigan1982 · 6/10 · 15 March 2015]

This movie will not give you something new. It is typical not many scares, but it keeps you interested till the end.

People go into the woods and they try in a way, to come out alive. Although it is a typical slasher movie as many said, it has a nice angle, not a lot of blood or nudity and sex. It focuses on the characters mostly and the story. This helps you get more involved with the movie and sympathize with the characters.

The cinematography and the directing is descent and the script keeps you till the end. But don't expect a lot of blood and scares. It has a kind of old time flavor horror movies; it gives you the thrills not much gore. If you want to see a lot of gore and blood watch another movie. Also the music is eerie.

The ending is very interesting and the psychological aspects of it, will make you wonder for a bit.

"Friday the 13th" meet "Lord of the flies" in this flawed slasher film!

[OliverGbyrne · 6/10 · 1 August 2015]

To begin this review , I must say that taking into consideration that this was the director's feature film debut , he did extremely well. The direction was the best thing about this film. Now , the issue of this film comes from it's script.It lacked focus. The story is simple enough : 12 year Sam goes camping , he his bullied by the other scouts and even by one of the scoutmaster (And his evil dog!) . When Sam tries to warn everybody that he saw a character from an Urban legend , Kai (an animal/boy who eats people) he his laughed at so Sam ends up developing a rather strange and disturbing relationship with Kai that would turn this Camping trip into a living nightmare! So the story is fairly straightforward as you can see but the issue is the writers felt necessary to add small layers/subplot to it that makes it more complex then it should. I can go on to much details or I will spoil the films.Let just say that the director gave Sam a mysterious background that raises a lot of questions but none of them are answered by the end of the film. For me ,personally, Cub is very good up to it's last 10 minutes.Great atmosphere, great direction,great acting by it's lead actor but the above issue I have with the film gives us an ending that leaves things to the viewers imagination. Your personal enjoyment of that film will come to this at the end : If you like to have a clear ending to your film , I am afraid you will be disappointed by Cub but if you are the type of person that loves a film to end in an ambiguous sort of way I believe you would find much to like in that film. Outside of this , Cub do a lot of things right. So if you are up for a very dark little film that has a very strong and shocking yet confusing ending you could do much worse then this trip to the wood. I give Cub a 6 out of 10

The horror of bullying and poor supervision

[quincytheodore · 5/10 · 21 March 2015]

There's little coherency in Cub, it's supposed to be a horror but half of the film is one kid getting harassed. In attempt to create any thrill it relies too much on convenience plot devices such as traps placed just in the right spot as plot demands it or the so called monster appears literally out of nowhere. If there's a message to be had here, it should be not to leave your impressionable kids with unprofessional scout leaders. Pretty much the same thing since Friday the 13th.

The story follows Sam, a very unfortunate boy who is on the receiving end of substandard treatment from his peers and supervisors. He and his scout unit go into a forest for camping, only to find that there are others await them. It's a very straightforward plot, and to its credit the film tries to include child negligence issue, but the approach is too heavy-handed to be effective.

Its worst barrier is the illogical thinking and action of the characters. These people, even the adults, don't seem to be functioning that well. Sam himself is a bit passive and finicky, the film wants the audience to sympathize with him, but it's hard to relate since most issues can be resolved with basic communication skill. I've seen horror movies with bland plot device of odd kid who cries wolf, Cub takes it even further till the point of exhaustion.

Pacing isn't that smooth either, almost two third of the movie is Sam getting yelled at and the rest of characters fumbling around. It does have some good scares or tense atmosphere at times, although these moments are few in between the banters and also unrealistic at best. The cinematography is decent, the film admittedly has several presentable shots, especially during the day with good lighting. However, the sequences in night time are sketchy, which is unfortunate since last act happens entirely in darkness.

There are gruesome events, these are mostly for shock value. If it tries to reach any fundamental message, Cub simply doesn't have the direction to convey it. The film doesn't even offer plausible motive, back story or explanation. Things just happen, and it wants you to be okay with that.

Truly, the real horror is how anyone would let their children roam the forest of haunted past guided by a couple of unqualified leaders. Keep your children save.

An otherwise standard cookie cutter psycho slasher movie with some twists

[targe1314 · 7/10 · 5 November 2015]

If you go down in the woods today you better not go alone...

If you go down in the woods today your sure to get a surprise...

A group of Belgian boy scouts go into the French woods and encounter a feral boy and a deranged psycho who likes to build traps....

This movie, subtitled but OK otherwise (note: Belgians swear in English) is a good attempt at spinning a familiar theme: camping trip ruined by deranged psycho.

The spins are: - The psycho has built a cool underground lair and seeded the forest around him with deadly booby traps and detection sensors.

• The psycho has a 'pet' feral boy to haunt the forest with.

• The movie explores the group dynamics of boys, young men, and one girl, stuck in a terrifying situation, drawing heavily on such classics as Lord of the Flies.

The drawbacks are pretty standard: - The booby traps are laughably over designed and far too accurate and effective to be believable.

• The deranged psycho is indestructible, as per normal 'Jason' types. He is an ex bus factory worker and in all respects human, so this invulnerability is never explained...

• The acting is, by virtue that most of the actors are under 18, sub par. The slightly loonie 'baloo' 2nd in command scout leader is perhaps the best character in the movie and very much like a young Brad Pitt.

The Ardennes for toddlers

[Jo-Ropke · 2/10 · 20 January 2018]

What a dumb movie. This is horror for 7-year olds. Just a whole bunch of genre cliches thrown together. Can't believe all these marvelous reviews. Who wrote those? Kids? Utterly silly attempt to make a scary 'oh-the-woods-are-creepy!' flick. PS: The Ardennes was a far entertaining movie, watch that one instead.

if you love animals, do not watch this

[gabaod2 · 6/10 · 19 May 2020]

To the director and those involved you have no compassion and we all know that scene wasnt necessary.

Not the worst horror out there.

[Patient444 · 5/10 · 4 March 2015]

Considering the fact I did in fact seen many movies like Cub, I'll try to keep the comment short. Why? Well, maybe I got tired of repeating myself, as Cub copied other productions before it.

It kinda feels like a blend between Wilderness and Haute Tension, it could be considered an OK movie by people that are strangers to horror, especially in the woods type. Not horrible, not bad, not stupid, but not that new either, does have that gory touch, to make it more shocking yet it still doesn't seem enough.

You could watch it, not for scares, but to see another horror, if you're a fan of such movies, and this will be the only reason I can recommend Cub. I'm glad I did, had a little portion of fun with it, found it an OK horror, considering I've had my share of such films, seen plenty and will continue to do so, thus, Cub, a 5/10 stars film in my books, feels like a breath of fresh air comparing to other non sense.

Cheers!

Best Horror story in years!

[jackvoltaire · 9/10 · 14 August 2015]

Some films resonate a story so superb that it stays with you forever. I feel that way with "Cub". I wouldn't be surprised if this was picked up and made for the American audience since Hollywood has completely run out of original stories... or should I say created a studio nepotism that makes it so the cream does not go to the top. This film is not in English so I'm sure very few in the US have seen it. It's is worth every minute of your time! This film has it all.. I won't go into details.. but the protagonist's journey is wonderfully constructed, a great cast, beautifully shot and to mention once more.. one of the best stories in the horror genre in years!

Creative Booby Traps, Broken Taboos & An Open Ending.

[meddlecore · 6/10 · 3 October 2015]

Welp (Cub) is a Belgian scouting horror, about a troupe of cub scouts who wander into the wrong part of the woods after a encounter with local rednecks runs them off what was supposed to be their campsite. And it's an imaginatively rad little debut from Jonas Govaerts.

Our protagonist is Sam; a foster kid who was forced to join the troupe so that he could learn how to cope with his personal mental issues arising from some traumatic (unspoken) past. He seems to be a good kid, but takes the brunt of the bullying from everyone accept his best friend Gries.

There's a sort of love triangle going on between the three pack leaders: Baloo, Kris & Jasmine. Both the guys are pretty douchey, but Baloo is definitely the more aggressive and douchier of the two. Even they pick on Sam, despite the fact that Jasmine tries to stick up and watch out for him.

The rest of the troupe are relatively inconsequential other than that they collectively bully Sam on a regular basis.

There's an urban legend surrounding the woods they have set up in- and even the police and rednecks are wary of wandering into the area. Word is that after the local industry went under, many suicides occurred there...a lot of negative energy surrounds the place.

There's also a tale about a man-hunting feral werewolf child named Kai, whom will come after anyone who dare enter his territory.

Not only does a feral masked man-killing child exist (though not a werewolf), but there's also a post-industrial serial killer on the loose- and they are prowling the woods together. Having set up all sorts of crazy lures and booby traps.

In fact, this film is all about these cleverly designed contraptions(with an honourable mention to the non-traditional ending that will have you going WTF!?!) The plot essentially focuses on the tension that exists between Sam and the rest of the troupe- relating to his claims that he has seen Kai out in the woods. They think he's nuts, and it just leads them to bully him more.

As a sort of "f*ck you" to the troupe, Sam goes off wandering into the woods to hunt for Kai himself.

Not only does he succeed in finding him, but they interact with one another- before Sam makes a run for it.

Little do any of them know that the adult psychopath plans on hunting them down one-by-one, starting with the townsfolk who followed the group into the woods.

This psychopath guy & feral child have fashioned themselves a WWII era style bunker and alert system through which they monitor the premises of their territory- which is replete with a variety of automated booby traps (some lethal, some strategic).

I don't want to go into the storyline too much (cause you should watch it), but the way the film is structured leaves room for a lot of interpretation and your own imaginative readings. For example, the picture he carries around with the scratched out face is never explained. But one could speculatively deduce that his aforementioned violent and traumatic past related him somehow to Kai (his brother, I was thinking)..and perhaps even to the man (as his father(?)). This would explain why he didn't just kill Sam right-off, when provided the oppourtunity.

The film has a sort of slice-of-life feel to it, because of it's abrupt ending- which leaves a few loose ends open. Like, what happens to Gries and the pack leader kid? They managed to survive it seemed. Did they escape? Was the final shot of the film alluding to the fact they were still being hunted? One can only speculate, I suppose.

In the end this an imaginatively fun film that breaks a bunch of standard taboos. It's simple, but well made...and is designed to incorporate the viewer into the experience by leaving elements open enough for us to speculate (or unlock through symbolism) about. Worth a watch for the awesome booby traps alone! 6.5 out of 10

This isn't horror, this is horrible

[tompeeters-81408 · 3/10 · 13 February 2018]

Oh boy,..why oh why do we waste tax-payers money on this kind of drab?

"Cub" is not an original, or for that matter, a good, movie. It tells the "story" (and I use that word lightely) of a scouts-gang heading out into the woods to find themselves butchered by a woodsman and a little boy. It features every cliché imaginable: dumb main characters, dumb blondes, gratuit sex-scenes, etc etc.. Now, that would not be a problem if the movie would be superd. But it lacks...everything!! There is no plot whatsoever!! -why is the little boy in the woods? No one knows -why is there a man in the woods killing people? No one knows -how did he manage to get a bus in the woods, underground? No one knows -how did he built a massive steel onderground lair? No one knows -why does the police officer not just drive around the tree logs? No one knows -How come the police officer can't find his way in the woods? No one knows -How do the killer and boy survice in the woods? No one knows -why was this kind of crap ever produced? No one knows

Don't watch this crap,...and to our government: STOP WASTING TAX-PAYERS MONEY!!!

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 7/10 · 28 July 2017]

A couple of unpleasant pack leaders are preparing a group of unpleasant Pathfinder cub scouts for a camping trip. Sam (Maurice Luijten) isn't unpleasant, but he is late for their briefing, which earns him fifty press-ups whilst wearing his back-back. When they reach their intended camping site, the group run into two even more unpleasant youths with a grudge, racing around on a go-cart. This encourages the Pathfinders, who are also cowards, to camp somewhere else … deep in the woods.

The two arrogant leaders Chris (Titus De Voogdt) and Peter – or Baloo (Stef Aerts) – are joined by the only female of the group, chef Jasmijn (Evelien Bosmans). Jasmine and Chris go some way to curbing the Pathfinders' bullying ways towards Sam, but the young outcast is more concerned with strange moving shapes in the trees and the legend of a local werewolf called Kai (Gill Eeckelaert).

The idea of Kai is a strong and appealing one. A feral child-creature living out in the woods. The more that is slowly revealed about him – and his father – slowly erodes the sinister mystique, which is a shame. And once we learn more about him, the horror aspects become less spectral, and more like solid slasher fare. And yet the twists and turns never stop until … well, even I won't spoil that! This Belgian horror is a terrific production; it contains effective characters, fine set-pieces and some nicely contrived death scenes. For all the killings brought about by a selection of cruel and carefully set traps throughout the forest, the real monster here for me is Baloo. Titus De Voogdt instils him with relentless, cowardly spite and bullying ways, we truly cannot wait for his come-uppance, which can never be horrible enough!

Original, but not really scary

[brunovanael · 6/10 · 2 August 2021]

More story and lots more originality than usual for this gerne. The music score unfortunately wasn't my cup of tea. There's a rule in cinema to avoid working with kids or animals, but not too much harm done in that section apart from the character of Sam. This could have done with a few more real scares, but points for bringing something fresh.

Stupid ending

[j7lr · 1/10 · 10 March 2020]

The movie was Ok most of the time. But at the end they burnt the movie. It was too stupid. A character can't change in seconds and be another person.

A very effective and atmospheric horror movie.

[johannes2000-1 · 7/10 · 2 August 2018]

The premise may not be too original (a group of youngsters camp in the woods and are besieged by an unknown sadistic force), but the script accounts for an interesting twist to the conventions of the genre: the group doesn't consist of the usual bunch of horny teens, but of young children of around ten or eleven years old.

The movie is extremely atmospheric with fine and effective photography, the young children act surprisingly natural (with special mention of Maurice Luijten as the main character Sam), the pace is high and there are lots of nasty killings, very convincingly done. At several places (and especially at the ending) this movie has also a message, like: even the ones from who you expect it the least can be brought to the edge of their civilized behavior and beyond. In that respect The Lord of the Flies comes to mind: like there, director Jonas Govaerts does not hold back on account of the unwritten movie-law that you better not mess with little children, they are fully involved in the brutal goings-on, as victims as well as culprits, and this has more than once a very chilling and unsettling effect.

At the end of the movie you get kind of overwhelmed and exhausted by all the excitement and violence, it's as if the makers couldn't choose between different scenario's and decided to just use all ideas together, it really is a bit too much! But otherwise: a very nice and effective movie, I was greatly entertained.

If they'd made it more of a character thriller it might have worked.

[GiraffeDoor · 2/10 · 6 May 2019]

Really lame wilderness horror that is somewhat interesting for its believable depiction of boy scout ritual and quasi-fascism.

It slowly goes nowhere until we get one laboured pseudo-ending after another, I rarely feel like a movie is holding me hostage like that.

It so does not earn its ending either. Needed a lot more build up and characterisation.

Welp, Cub was a pleasant surprise

[Howling_at_the_Moon_Reviews · 6/10 · 6 January 2022]

At first this movie had a really weird juxtaposition between feeling like an introductory horror movie for a younger demographic while also having subject matter and language for adults. Then it switched to full adult and turned into a slew of violence with some perversions sprinkled in. However, that didn't happen until around the last third of the movie.

I wish it had hit its horror stride a tad earlier in the film, and then maybe we could have gotten a little more background on what was going on with the creepy characters and some of their origin.

The whole movie had an weird underlying sexual tension. The blossoming of sexuality with a bunch of young boys just discovering it, and the height of it with counselors in their early 20s. It was... interesting, for sure.

The whole thing felt like a narrative on the loss of innocence, on many levels. That didn't become super apparent to me until later in the film. Acting wise the kids did a great job, especially with what the two had to do towards the end.

Over all I was entertained and quite honestly shocked with what this ended up being... I wasn't expecting that. Would definitely recommend.

Promising but disappointing

[nascent_cinephile · 3/10 · 8 May 2021]

After an opening that feels tacked on for the purposes of informing us that we are watching a horror film, Cub opens its proper story in contrastingly sunny fashion. It introduces us to its protagonist, 12-year-old Sam (Maurice Luijten), furiously pedaling his bicycle one bright morning. Luijten infuses his performance with tension right away, allowing us to sense Sam's unease, in his conflicting desires to get to his destination as quickly as possible, yet also to flee anywhere else and avoid it completely. Soon we understand why.

Sam's Boy Scout pack shoot hoops while their two adult pack leaders, Peter (Stef Aerts), the impatient, irritable one, and Kris (Titus de Voogdt), the by-the-book but compassionate one, debate whether to leave for their planned camping trip to the Ardennes without him. After Sam arrives at the last second, the mild verbal and physical bullying he receives from his peers and even his pack leaders, eventually reined in by Kris, establishes that Sam is at the bottom of the regular pecking order for this group.

Before departing, Peter and Kris stoke the boys' imaginations, especially impressionable Sam's, by relaying a local legend about a werewolf-boy named Kai who is said to haunt the very woods in which the pack will be camping. After picking up Peter's girlfriend Jasmijn (Evelien Bosmans) on the way, the pack encounter a pair of punk off-roaders who relay another story about a group of striking bus drivers who hung themselves from the trees and now haunt the woods. The campground police officer (Jean-Michel Balthazar) implies his belief in these folk tales, urging Kris to keep his cell phone handy. It goes without saying that the campground will be out of service.

After establishing its lore, Cub's plot makes logical enough sense, at least by horror movie standards. The boy-creature Kai contacts Sam, and Sam is surprised to identify with him. Then, after Peter's obnoxious dog bites him, Sam begins his own transformation into beast. That transformation is completed one horrific night after Sam follows Kai into the woods and learns that it holds even deeper, darker secrets. It is only by searching under the surface of this sequence of events that one finds the film's hollow center.

Unfortunately, the reasons for Sam's conversion to the woods' dark side remain quite inscrutable. First-time director and cowriter Jonas Govaerts seems aware and apologetic about this failure, shoehorning a cryptic line into a conversation between Kris, Peter, and Jasmijn about Sam having an unnamed darkness in his past. Alas, despite Luijten's appropriately intense, aloof, always unsmiling performance, this conversation proves merely a red herring. Additionally, the subplot about the darker force in the forest and its possible relation the bus drivers' ghosts seems to belong in a different film entirely. It muddles what could have been a potent statement about the outcome of marginalizing and picking on a child, had the time instead been spent more firmly establishing Sam's character and his motives.

Cub is not without certain welcome light touches, for example the Scouts' tendency to refer to their pack leaders using character names from The Jungle Book, Akela (Kris) and Baloo (Peter). A scene in which an angel-voiced boy sings a "Taps"-like hymn before bedtime is a nice, ironic wink at the carnage yet to come. And the Scouts' pre-lights-out revelry in such contraband as candy, sodas, and Playboys deftly recalls the joys and vices of that point on the journey that falls precisely between boyhood and manhood. That scene in particular works well because Sam's presence at that very juncture, and his decision whether he will choose a light or dark path for the remainder of his journey is, ultimately, what the film is about. Nonetheless, by the time Cub reaches its splattered, incomprehensibly nihilistic conclusion, in which the film's opening sequence of a bloody, screaming girl running through the forest repeats itself in sequence in the film's timeline, it is likely that viewers will feel like the girl: searching for any method of escape from these woods, only to be met with a hand to the throat.

My kinda horror flick!

[killianhgore · 10/10 · 17 August 2015]

For a start, I love movies set in the woods. It's probably my favourite horror movie location so I knew I was going to love this movie from the moment I first saw the trailer - and it didn't let me down when I watched the full movie.

This is a brilliantly entertaining horror movie that is incredibly well made and really scary! The performances in the movie are all really good and the script was very compelling, leading to a fantastic, classic horror movie ending. The cinematography and direction are exceptional and I think Jonas Govaerts is a director to watch out for in the horror genre.

I loved it!!!

The Mystery, Fear And Darkness Of The Woods

[Foutainoflife · 7/10 · 1 February 2019]

This Belgian film is not perfect but it is a nice piece of work. A boy, Sam, is a member of a scout troop that are going camping. The area where they are headed has a fearful reputation circulating around a story of boy named Kai, turned vicious werewolf, living ferrell in the forest. Some folks have the opinion that the stories are true while others believe it to be a campfire tale that makes for a more exciting camping experience. Sam is not particularly liked by some of the troop leaders because he is a foster child with a traumatic background and they believe that he should be in therapy rather than scouts. Sam comes across as a sensitive boy and he believes in the stories about Kai and once in the woods he becomes even more convinced. So, what is going on in these woods? This is your plot.

I'd been passing by this film for a while now and decided to sit down and watch it. I must say that, for the most part, I was pleased with this. It was able to hold my attention and I didn't always know what to expect. It has a fair amount of suspense to it and what plays out is horrific. Don't get me wrong though, this film is not about a lot of blood, guts and violence. All that is present but it isn't the main focus. At least, not in my opinion. I thought the acting and camera work were decent and I liked that there was a noticeable attention to the special effects and stunts.

There were things missing that kept it from being top notch. I wish we could've understood more about Sam and his background. It was insinuated that he came from a rough past and we got to see how he interacted with others but I just wanted to know more about him.

I'm about to give a few spoilers so for those of you who'd rather not see them but want to know if the film is worth it, I'm gonna say yes. It was worth the watch and I will probably mention it to my friends. Check it out.

**Spoilers Ahead**

These spoilers are just a little more on what I felt the film was missing. We didn't learn much about Kai. You got the generalized impression that he became what he was the same way as Sam but that's about it. We also never really got a clue as to why all that was happening was taking place leaving it to be due to simple psychopathic behavior. I also wanted an explanation for the underground structure. Even with these small problems, I still enjoyed this film.

Uninspired and full of typical horror clichés

[R-Clercx · 5/10 · 31 October 2014]

I just saw Welp on a Halloween Night in Kinepolis Belgium.

A group of young scouts goes out for camp in the woods where a mysterious werewolf type of boy was sighted.

The production, the atmosphere and the acting are all relatively good for a director's debut, but Welp fails miserably by having an uninspired scenario and a story line full of clichés.

It's run of the mill, average, never surprising but luckily the photography manages to breath some atmosphere in it.

Horror buffs will immediately associate the forest camp setting as drawn from Friday the 13th (but this time with a younger bunch of scouts), while the rest of the story feels like a less haunting and gory Texas Chainsaw Massacre (minus the Texas family).

Just about any horror cliché is present: - forest setting (check), - young people on camp (check), - the gorgeous blonde (check), - masked mysterious figure in the woods (check), - booby traps in the woods (check), - gorgeous blonde gets tied up on a hook (check), ...

Frankly, there was one cliché missing: gorgeous blonde shows her tits. Might have made the movie better...

While this movie is getting some hype in the press in Belgium (for obvious reasons -chauvinism and tax shelter money is in it); as a (Belgium) viewer I could not stop wondering: is this really the best one can do with evaded tax money and should this kind of uninspired ultra commercial movies be government sponsored?

Because it's far from art and it's not even above average entertainment.

Transformation from a scout-cub to the real one.

[Reno-Rangan · 6/10 · 29 April 2015]

Legends are created to inspire, scare, obey and for entertainment. Sometimes for some people, it's a great opportunity to utilise the concept to do illegal things. Whatever this movie is about you must observe carefully and try to apply these theories. You will get the story, but enjoying watching it is up to what you were expecting and what it delivered. If you had seen numerous similar horror-thriller, then you feel awful.

Belgian horror-thriller, well, that's what they say, but I doubt it. It sets in the summer scout camp, which is directed by a newcomer. A thirteen member of the scout team heads to the woods to set a camp. But it was about a 12 year old Sam, who is a cub scout. He's a first choice of pick to bully by his fellow scouts, especially by the den leader as well by one particular pack leader. He's always late, weak and his over imagination makes him a weirdo in the herd. During in the camp, he discovers what was said to be a legend is real. Not bothers to convince others since they never going to believe him. His adventure is to go deep and discover the secrets, but all the above finds the right place for his essence.

"Kai does exist. He lives in a tree house in the woods."

The 'Marina' girl was in a prominent role. In this 80 minute movie every role was a prominent one. There was no time to develop character, but simply a straight forward presentation. Began with the spilling werewolf concept and it did not hold longer the suspense. Once you know it's not a horror, but a thriller you would lose the interest. Follows the cliché, the same old killings without the reasons or proper explanation. Well, at that time of the story that how it looked, but sooner or later you will know the truth. It's not only the camp versus the whoever hunting/haunting them. It's about the basic instinct, the first reaction to the situations. There is no surprise on the pack leaders, their's behavior is not just based on the fiction, merely true in reality.

Traps were the best parts compared to the killings, but too short to have pleasure. Initially I expected it to be a children's horror movie since they are involved, but there are some contents that do restrict them from watching it. Commercial recognise is very important for filmmakers, so they didn't fear to bring the cliché on. I still feel the end should have been a little creative and a fresh idea could have served it well. Not only the end you are going to predict, well, almost everything before from happening.

Keeping mystery is the key factor for a movie if the director and writer want to surprise the viewers. Does that 'hold-back' is good enough to satisfy the audience during the twist is the question. First half of the movie nicely keeps the suspense, all about the next half where smartness lacks. Actually, there is no twist at all, the story itself reveals from beginning till the end. All we have to do is figure it out ourselves what this battle is about, other than good versus bad. I'm itching to say it, but it'll spoil if you have not seen the movie yet, so I let you find yourself.

As the Belgians perspective the film is okay kind, but not to the rest of the world. Overall an average movie compared to the international standards, but the production quality is impressive. A nice concept, set off very well, but the blow is maybe the influence of Hollywood in today's world cinemas, especially in this genre that did not help to finish it off ably. The days gone by this movie will be forgotten, but I believe in this filmmaker who has a good knack for this type of films will definitely come up with another brilliant product in a near future.

6/10

Sam's descent

[killercharm · 6/10 · 18 February 2020]

A story of wild and wily forest legends that chase down the camping innocents, that is to say a bunch of scouts, cub scouts that is. One boy learns what's up but continues to get blamed for the evil that they do. This movie is good at showing Sam's descent. A jolly good time was had by all.