Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is a satirical spoof of the horror genre, mocking many films throughout its bloody, comedic narrative. Director Eli Craig (Little Evil) flips the script on tired genre tropes while injecting plenty of direct references to horror films that came before.
The film is centered around two well-meaning friends who have just purchased their dream vacation home, a rundown cabin in the woods of West Virginia that they plan to fix up together. Immediately mistaken by murderous hillbillies by a group of pretentious, judgmental college students, Tucker and Dale become caught up in the ensuing violence as misunderstandings wipe out the clueless campers.
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is built around the reconstruction of worn out horror movie tropes. By now, audiences are more than used to seeing a group of tormented teens fall victim to sadistic killers in the woods and Craig's parody provides a fresh, funny take on the genre's most notable motifs. Satirizing plots featuring remote cabins, oblivious college students, bloodthirsty hillbillies, and helpless female victims, Tucker and Dale smartly mocks the same aspects of horror of which horror fans have grown weary.
Friday The 13th
Friday the 13th appeared on the big screen in 1980 and has become a vital film of the slasher sub-genre. The film features a group of optimistic camp counselors as they prepare for the start of summer, setting up the grounds for the soon to be arriving children. In true slasher form, the young adults are hunted down by an unseen stalker who picks the counselors off one by one in an increasingly brutal fashion. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil mocks the naivety of the victims, having its campers bring on their own deaths while remaining convinced they are falling prey to murderous assailants.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Tobe Hooper's 1974 slasher, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is a gruesome staple of the horror genre. Known for its graphic depictions of cannibalism, the film garnered both praise and criticism for its excessive scenes of violence. In a comical parody of an iconic horror moment, Dale is seen frantically waving his chainsaw in the air, a sight which convinces the campers that he and Tucker are in fact, evil. While his wild and seemingly crazed reaction mirrors Leatherface, the cannibalistic, chainsaw toting antagonist of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the harmless Dale is simply trying to escape a swarm of angered bees.
Deliverance
John Boorman's 1972 horror/thriller Deliverance is remembered for its violent portrayal of a getaway gone wrong. Adapted from James Dickey's novel, the film stars Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Nead Beatty and Ronny Cox as four business men who travel to rural Georgia for a canoe trip where they are stalked and assaulted by sadistic locals of the rural area. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil pokes fun at the narrative, humanizing their hillbillies and having them rescue a drowning camper, saving a life as opposed to taking it. When Tucker and Dale wave down the other college students, yelling "We got your friend!" it is quickly misconstrued as a malevolent kidnapping, kickstarting an unfortunate series of misunderstandings and subsequent deaths.
The Evil Dead and Wrong Turn
The famed cabin from Sam Raimi's 1981 horror classic, The Evil Dead, popularized the sub genre of terror striking at a remote house in the woods. The setting has inspired many filmmakers as they concoct their own versions of the trope and the 2012 horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods even reconstructed an identical house, specifically paying homage to the notorious cabin. Tucker and Dale director, Eli Craig cited the Evil Dead cabin as a source of inspiration for the vacation home his protagonists plan to fix up. According to Craig, his cabin is a combination of that seen in the Evil Dead and the cabin from the 2003 slasher Wrong Turn, which like Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is set in the backwoods of West Virginia.