Brian Delate, Christopher Wynkoop, Daniel Sherman

George is a high-strung professional photographer who is starting to unravel from the stress of his work with a Manhattan advertising agency. Needing some time away from the city, Jake, his wife Kim, ...( read more  read more... )and their son Miles head to upstate New York to take in the winter sights, though the drive up is hardly relaxing for any of them. George accidentally hits and severely injures a deer that ran onto the icy road; after George stops to inspect the damage, he's confronted by an angry local named Otis who flies into a rage, telling George that he and his fellow hunters had been tracking the deer for some time. An argument breaks out, which leaves George feeling deeply shaken. When George and Kim arrive at their cabin, they discover that it's next door to Otis' property, and they soon find that a dark and intimidating presence seems to have taken over the cottage. Since, when they stopped at a store en route to the cabin, a shopkeeper told Miles about the legend of the Wendigo, a beast from Indian folklore who is half-man, half-deer, and can change itself at will, the child begins to wonder if the creature might have something to do with his family's sudden misfortune.

Flixster Users

26% liked it

2,822 ratings

Critics

57% liked it

49 critics

R, 92 min.

Directed by: Larry Fessenden

Release Date: January 1, 2001

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DVD Release Date: December 17, 2002

Stats: 137 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (137)


  • September 30, 2009
    This film starts off quite well and has moments of real thrills but unfortunately loses its way in the second half. Shame really as Clarkson, Weber and a young Erik Per Sullivan do a great job as the terrorised family. This film could have been a classic thriller but Fessenden is...( read more) a far better director than he is an editor and ultimately lets the side down. I wouldn't be surprised if the producers had a hand in its downfall too!
  • January 30, 2008
    Okay, let's say you're a deeply pretentious filmmaker with a shoestring budget and you want to do a movie about a family and a deer monster. You still following me? Good. Now, what's the best way to produce your "German expressionist horror film" while aptly disguising your lack ...( read more)of funding and lack of talent at the same time?

    a) Learn more about human interaction and how to write natural-sounding dialogue and characters
    b) Learn more about the process of capturing an aesthetically appealing image on camera
    c) use freak-ass editing and shitty looking jump shots and reiterate over and over through repetitive scenes that THIS FAMILY HAS PROBLEMS BUT IT'S OKAY THEY LOVE EACH OTHER.

    Three guesses as to which option Larry Fessenden picked. By the way, Fessenden is clearly the biggest tool ever. If this movie's chronic head-up-its-ass syndrome wasn't a definite indicator, look at his picture on IMDB. It sends douche chills running up my spine.

    I guess it's not fair to totally lambast this movie, because there were one and a half things I liked about it. The first is Patricia Clarkson, who I'll watch in basically anything; why she is pissing her career away in movies like this and The Woods totally eludes me. I'm really glad she's in Shutter Island, the new Scorsese film which I'm fucking excited for. GO PATTY GO

    The other half thing that I kind of liked was that Wendigo does try to explore some interesting themes before it falls in love with its own idiotic mythos. Ideas like moral objectivity and sentience are touched upon ever so slightly; sadly, Fessendouche refuses to expound on them, instead opting to show us jittery stop-motion shots of some cunt in a deer suit running around in the woods.

    But what's wrong with Wendigo? Besides what I've already mentioned - Jake Weber is impressively bad. If you're getting out-acted by a seven year old, then it's time to find a new job. Said seven year old is actually a pretty good actor, but guys, DON'T put him in any more horror films. His scared expression was by far the most unintentionally hilarious moment in a movie that is full of them. Eh, I forgive him, he wasn't too heinous for the most part.
  • August 28, 2007
    Since I watched this film directly after the atrocious 'Scarred' this film seemed Oscar worthy. The acting talent is there with both Clarkson and Weber creating an emotional and believable couple. The film keeps a slow and steady pace but then derails as finally father and son be...( read more)gn to bond in a way reminiscent of the dinner scene in 'Jaws' just in time for an accident that never sees this relationship come to fruition. Finally the mythological aspects come into play with a guy running round in a deer suit which looks so campy not one shot lasts longer than a second. What could have been a nice psychological family drama/horror just sort of flaps about like a dying fish.
  • December 27, 2006
    Interesting, but ultimately a let-down.
  • April 14, 2009
    An extremely creative director's personal vision compromised by a B-film producer. Larry Fessenden is clearly an original artist with his own distinctive style and voice but he's never given the time or production he needs to make the brief truly creepy mood last. I believe white...( read more) knuckled atmosphere to be everything when it comes to the craft of all great horror films, and some of the fast-paced editing butchers many, but not all, of the scenes with the most potential to freak out.

    Larry Fessenden's campfire quality ghost story is shamelessly thrilling and thought provoking at times. I think it's a real shame that the finished product of WENDIGO is mostly a mediocre horror.
  • August 31, 2009
    Almost a great parable. Snappier editing, better special effects and the removal of a ridiculous sex scene would have created a movie that was memorable for the right reasons.
  • March 7, 2009
    tought to follow or care about.
  • August 3, 2008
    Words can't describe the stupidity of a movie like this. I can barely even bring myself to give it half a star. Ridiculous.
  • June 15, 2008
    More an indie drama than a horror movie.

    If the filmmakers had wanted to make a gory monster movie, the story elements would have supported it.

    But that's not the kind of movie they wanted to make. The problem is, that's the kind of movie a jaded audience might expect as the st...( read more)ory unfolds. Their expectations get in the way of judging the movie for what it is.

    Yes, the movie could benefit from more plot, more tension. I found myself urging the characters to move it along a few times.

    I enjoyed the unusual camera and editing tricks, although they sometimes were used in strange places.

    Ultimately, I liked it. Wendigo is about mood. Fantasy vs. reality. The struggle to be a "good" person in a changing world.
  • April 12, 2008
    Pretty good movie. It was slow though. It had a good story also. It started getting interesting in the last 30 minutes. I hated that the dad died at the end, it looked like he was going to survive.

Critic Reviews


February 23, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The ending doesn't work ... but most of the movie works so well I'm almost recommending it, anyway -- maybe not to everybody, but certainly to people with a curiosity about how a movie can go very rig... full review

View more Wendigo reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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