User Reviews

Low-budget amateur horror has proved to be a great breeding ground for directorial talent in days gone by, but it has also given the genre more than its fair share of useless hacks. Sledge, from co-directors John B Sovie II and Kristian Hanson gives me very little reason to believe that they will have anything of note to offer horror fans in the future. Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson they are most definitely not (and I suspect they know it).

The only thing that sets this derivative, poorly made, badly acted tongue-in-cheek slasher apart from similarly themed films is its framing device: a young woman alone at home sits down to watch a trashy backwoods horror movie called 'Sledge', the action cutting back and forth from the woman watching TV to the film within the film. Unfortunately, as ideas go, it's an absolute stinker, the constant to-ing and fro-ing between such disparate settings only serving to interrupt the flow of the action.

Not that there's any decent action to interrupt…

When the woman is on screen, she spends most of her time talking on the phone to her boyfriend, the conversation being extremely dull, while the bulk of the action that takes place in the woods consists of the obnoxious characters engaging in equally inane chit-chat. Very little of this film's 75 minutes runtime is actually devoted to horror, but when it is, there is little for horror fans to actually get worked up about: the killer is an unmemorable psycho in a mask who spouts droll one-liners, and his kills are remarkably gore-free given the method with which he dispatches his victims.

There's not even any of that other staple ingredient of the genre: gratuitous nudity. The characters speak about and indulge in sex non-stop, but somehow the film manages to be completely devoid of bare flesh, making it an all round disappointment for slasher fans.

On the PLUS side.....it's actually filmed "pretty" well. I've seen worse acting in a low budget horror film,and those are the only positive things I can say about this movie. The script is god awful,and DRAGS ON at times.For a film this short....that is NOT good.The script is jammed packed with SO MUCH sexual humor that it just gets REALLY OLD after five minutes of it.Like I said,I've seen WORSE low budget horror movies,but if you're going into this one expecting a lot....you are going to be let down. Next!

SLEDGE is the passion project of writer and co-director Kristian Hanson, (along with John Sovie II). Hanson is a huge fan of the 80s-style slasher flick and he captures this tone perfectly in his debut film. What starts out as a seemingly typical romp with teens going into the woods and teens getting killed in said woods becomes something much more in the very capable hands of Hanson and crew. I'll admit that I was hesitant as I sat down to watch SLEDGE (seemed to be just another teens killed in the woods flick) but was more than pleasantly surprised. Hanson puts his own spin on things and doesn't just attempt to make another run-of-the-mill horror-comedy or homage to the 80s-style slasher flick. He does indeed pay homage to the golden era of slasher films but he also makes SLEDGE his own. This is a hugely fun and entertaining horror film.

SLEDGE begins with a fun early sequence that sets the tone for the entire film. After the mayhem of the opening we then switch to a girl settling in with some popcorn and wine to watch a movie on TV. At first I didn't know what the hell was going on, but it soon becomes apparent that Hanson is presenting SLEDGE as a film within a film. The host of the late night show is the beloved, foul-mouthed puppet, Assly. If you guessed that the B-movie Assly is presenting is SLEDGE, well you don't win anything. I thought that was pretty obvious. But as it begins we get the typical set up of a bunch of friends gathering together for a fun weekend excursion of drugs, drink, and donut dunking in the woods. But as usual, these teens didn't do their local folklore homework and end up in the wrong part of the woods. Around the campfire, Alex (Dustin Bowman), tells them all about the local urban legend of Adam Lynch (a name taken from two of Hanson's horror influences, Adam Green and Joe Lynch). As the story goes, Adam Lynch is a psychotic killer who lives in the woods and kills any and every one he comes across with his trusty sledgehammer. So I guess this isn't really a "slasher" film so much as it is a "smasher" film (yes; I'm proud of that one).

It doesn't take long for all chaos to break loose and when it does, hold onto your hats. SLEDGE is fast-paced, gory, fun, bloody, and gory. Did I mention gory? I read that the budget here was roughly around $2,000. You'd never know it, though. Sure SLEDGE has that low-budget, indie horror look to it, but it doesn't feel cheap. Hanson got every single penny up on the screen and it shows. I was also impressed with the assembled cast. For a low-budget flick, the cast does a really nice job. And the gore … the gore is terrific!! There's no CGI here, just practical effects and damn if they aren't done well!! I also really love the killer's mask. Very creepy and effective. Gore hounds will be very pleased because every chance Adam Lynch gets to smash skulls, pull out intestines, and just generally ruin the days of the cast members, he takes … and we the viewer get to see it all. Nothing is done off screen!! Bravo, Kristian, bravo. It's nice to see that there are still some indie horror filmmakers out there on a shoestring budget that can still deliver the gore.

But I think where SLEDGE really differs from other films in this genre is with the killer himself, Adam Lynch. Lynch isn't a killer because he has mommy issues. He's not a killer because he's out for revenge. Lynch is killing because he's crazy and enjoys killing people. Period. Do ya really need any deeper reason than that? So many times writers get caught up in the details that they forget Ockham's Razor: Less is more. Hanson doesn't forget this and he embraces it. Lynch is just a messed up guy who enjoys smashing and killing people. But there's another difference between Lynch and the traditional slasher. Lynch talks!! Not only does he talk when he's killing victims, but he taunts and belittles them. At first I was completely caught off guard when I heard Lynch talk. But he doesn't just spout out stupid Krueger-like one-liners that make you roll your eyes and wish he'd shut up. Lynch is actually funny and he provides a little much needed comic relief. The killings are pretty intense and Lynch helps to lighten up the mood slightly. The horror aspect isn't reduced from the comedy but the two elements actually work together and nicely enhance each other.

My only complaints about SLEDGE were that we didn't really get any character development and the dialog in some places was a little flat. Neither of these complaints hurt my overall opinion of SLEDGE, though. SLEDGE is a really fun, back-to-basics slasher (I mean 'smasher') film that fans of the genre are gonna love. I can't wait to see what Hanson comes up with next, and I hope SLEDGE isn't the last time we meet Adam Lynch. I think he's still got a lot of killing left in him!! Don't miss SLEDGE.

What would happen if you went out with friends to the woods to camp, have fun and have sex? You'd get killed by a guy with a sledge hammer, of course! Welcome to the new indie horror film, Sledge, directed by Kristian Hanson John Sovie II. The film stars Travis Hanson, Duston Bowman, Stephanie Tupper, Russell Matoes, Desiree Holmes, and Kristian Hanson as the killer Adam Lynch.

I've been following Kristian's work since he published his first written work, Fat Kid's Wolfy's Revenge, and when I finally watched Sledge, I knew I was going to be in for a ride involving blood, killing, horror references, and crazy humor.

Sledge is your classic slasher (sledger?) movie that revolves around the man, Adam Lynch, who wields a sledge hammer as his favorite weapon. He stalks and kills his hapless camping victims much in the same way Jason Vorhees would in Friday the 13th.

Speaking of which, it seems that Mr. Lynch is a mix between the two classic horror icons Jason Vorhees and Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Kruger. Adam Lynch favors stalking those who intrude on his turf in a mask which totally covers his face, but has a way of talking that reminds me of Freddy Kruger.

Sledge, in my movie is a pretty decent indie film, especially for Hanson's first publicly released movie. The film did have a few minor hiccups, but ultimately didn't really effect the appeal of the movie. These hiccups included a few odd cuts, mainly in the scenes where a killing was happening, mainly during the "killing blow" with the sledge hammer. But, I'm not counting this against the film itself. I just personally thought some of these death scenes could have run just a bit "smoother."

In Sledge, the story that ran during the course of the movie was a pretty good one. There are a lot of interaction between the characters that help develop their personalities and the bonds between each of them. People who enjoy character growth in movies will enjoy this, as there is a fair amount of conversations between characters going on during the low parts of Sledge.

My only real gripe with Sledge is I would have liked to see more of Adam Lynch throughout the course of the 1 hour and 15 minute running time. Lynch brings in some added character that is absent from a lot of horror movie villains. This is why seeing a little more of him would have been nice. Perhaps we will see him have more screen time in a sequel sometime?

Overall, Sledge was an enjoyable movie. I think the length of the movie was about spot on in comparison to the film's pacing. Much longer, and it could started to become a bit long winded. Those who like the indie, B horror flicks should get a kick out of Sledge. Plus, there is an introduction to the movie by another Kristian Hanson original, Assly the Puppet. It would do ya good to give Sledge a try.

A Kristian Hanson/John B Sovie II movie.

sledge This was actually a reel-good find on Face Book, Having just been numbed by 500 MPH STORM from some old screener buddies.

There is your quote: SLEDGE is better that Syfy's 500 MPH STORM ! Really the feel and looks that SLEDGE has are throwback slasher ,

And let's face it killer has a mask and a sledgehammer ! Then they start doing layers,I know Right, But killer may think he is a movie or video-game,WTH ! ON blog talk radio website 'craptastically horrific' there is a awesome podcast under title 'sledgecast-episode-7-pizza-party-with-dickie'.