REVIEW: Never Hike Alone

Back in October, Womp Stomp Films released Never Hike Alone, a fan-made short film inspired by the notorious Friday the 13^th Franchise. After hundreds of comments and requests for physical copies and even a sequel, VIVA thought it was time to kick back and turn on the TV to see what all the fuss is about.

As Never Hike Alone is a fan-made film, there are certain legal requirements and limits that Womp Stomp Films had to abide by, such as budget limits and copyright laws. The small, LA-Based film studio used a 40K budget – which when compared to the first ever Friday’s budget of an estimated $550,000, is a measly drop in the ocean.

The casting for Never Hike Alone and the amount of characters in the film aren’t stereotypical of the Friday Franchise, swapping out the group of young and wild teens for a hiking blogger. The short film follows Kyle McLeod (Andrew Leighty) who unknowingly follows a trail leading him to Camp Crystal Lake, and Jason Voorhees’ home.

The build-up of suspense during the 50 minute running time is truly impeccable; the first glimpse we get to see of Jason is only brief, but the sound effects and the camera angles used are just enough to get anyone sinking into their seat with a strong sense of dread. After following an unusual trail through the woods, Kyle stops at a ‘no trespassing’ sign where he makes his first major mistake.

Jason is a widely used Cosplay Character

While bent down filming next to the sign, Kyle is being watched through the trees. As the camera angles change back to Kyle we get our first taste of Jason, as he steps out of the trees behind Kyle and into the path behind the sign. Keep in mind that this is a fan-made film and so Jason doesn’t appear to be as big and rugged as he usually is, which may be a downfall of the budget as the writer and director, Vincente DiSante, also plays the role of Jason.

Kyle decides to ignore the sign, and follows the trail regardless – which leads him to the discovery of Camp Crystal Lake. The camp is dishevelled and abandoned, with tape still draped over the doors and numbered ribbons hanging all over to mark each crime scene. Of course, Kyle goes on to explain the infamous murders that once happened there and the legend of Jason Voorhees – which he calls a ‘ghost story’. Kyle is quick to change his mind when he is ambushed by Jason and thrown from the entryway of a one-storey cabin; and so the battle begins.

Jason’s mask has changed throughout the franchise

As it’s only Kyle that Jason is hunting, there are bound to be a few near-misses – you can’t exactly kill off your only character half-way through the film now, can you? There are several fight scenes between the pair throughout the movie; one of which demasks Jason to reveal his horribly disfigured face. If you’re worrying about the lack of blood and gore from this supposed slasher film then fear not, as there are in fact some deaths, and even a famous head crushing scene which is quite impressive!

We, here at VIVA, don’t want to give you guys too many spoilers; so why not watch it for yourself? With the quality shown, it is so easy to forget it isn’t part of the real franchise. You get blood, gore, suspense, and more – and it’s all for free, as Womp Stomp Films have released the full movie on Youtube!

Watch Never Hike Alone now at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K_wkQSM8xM

P.S. If all that wasn’t enough to convince you, there might be a special appearance from a certain survivor that any Friday fan would NOT want to miss! #JarvisIsBack