Review - The Sticks (Spoiler-free)

Being lost and alone, stranded in one of the most intimidating settings of isolated and dense woodland, is a common fear for an extremely valid reason. Contemporary safety nets are stripped, leaving a bare vulnerability that has stood the test of time in the horror genre. Think of the desolate forests in the classic found footage film, 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) or the folkloric based 'The Ritual' (2017). The intensity of the fight for survival is brutal and certainly a memorable spectator experience. However, there is one thing that surpasses this threat more than anything. We are not necessarily afraid of being alone in the woods; instead, we are afraid that we are not alone… 

Cinematically weaponising this chilling one-sentence horror story is Peter Kominek's 'The Sticks', a brand new horror film that combines a true smorgasbord of thematics and notions to create a whirlwind of a film. The Sticks sees Beth (played by co-writer, Shelby Cox-Dersch) survive a violent car crash with her outdoorsman husband Matt (Mitchel Roelfsema), whose fate remains a mystery for most of the film. Now, abandoned in the remote forest, Beth relies on her basic bushcraft skills and innate drive to survive, whilst being pushed to her limits by looming supernatural forces. 

Emulating Beth and her adeptness, The Sticks was made completely, (and rather deservedly proudly by Kominek), using guerrilla style tactics. Fuelled by a pure love for creation, the film commenced production with micro-budgets, skeleton crews, hard days and gruelling nights, filming primary on any free time the cast and crew could muster over the course of two years. In ode to the bootstrapped process, Kominek even attests that the camera lens used was inexpensively thrifted and self-modified, with the filmmaker further confessing that nothing short of blood, sweat and tears essentially formed the foundations of The Sticks. On that note, here at Dead Northern, we recognise that it is innovative and ambitious indie horror that makes up the quintessential essence of the horror genre, and as such, immediate praise is owed to The Sticks for all of the above. 

The commendation does not stop short here, with the film also having some seriously unexpected twists and turns that guarantee a rewatch in order to acknowledge the tiny hints wittingly dashed along the way, one of which is a complete head-spin as we learn some gnarly home truths about Beth's treacherous journey in the first place. Essentially, the power of subversion is infused with a sense of eerie psychological horror to beef up the already fearful, ghostly-esque atmosphere at play. This melting pot of themes and plot interruptions is a risky choice, particularly when combined with the non-linear timeframe that The Sticks employs. Yet, there is something so immersive and intriguing about this unique elixir of structures and the spiderweb-like intricateness that makes it incredibly suited to the horror of the film.

Lastly, whilst it is clear that The Sticks has favoured particularly well here, the film does wear some of the hallmarks of its independent background on its sleeve. Indeed, the pacing is a tale of two halves, with the second portion of the film performing much better than its first, and a few of the effects possibly lacking a polished finish under a microscope. With that being said, it is this exact line of harsh microscopic scrutiny that needs to be paid attention to. Nitpicking aside, The Sticks is not only a worthwhile watch for any horror fan, but also a genuinely exciting film that speaks volumes for both indie cinema and Kominek's future directorial career. 

The Sticks is streaming now on Tubi

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