DVD Review: Cub (2015)

(aka Welp.)
Release Date: Jan 30th, 2015 (GER)
Country: Belgium.
Rating: NR.
Written by: Jonas Govaerts and Roel Mondelaers.
Directed by: Jonas Govaerts.
Starring: Maurice Luijten, Stef Aerts, Titus De Voogdt, and Evelien Bosmans.

Until Cub came along, the only Flemish language Horror film that we'd seen is a disturbing little oddity called Left Bank. There are plenty of other Belgian Horror & Thriller movies out there that are co-productions with other countries (Calvaire, Sl8n8, and Vinyan come to mind), but they aren't wholly products of Belgium. Not that it's a big deal or anything, we just find it notable that Cub is a purely Belgian Horror movie (Flemish language and all), and that it's also really good. I guess we're just happy that Belgium has a new, high-profile Horror flick that they can call their own. We're sentimental like that.

Sam is a twelve-year-old kid with a troubled past, who also sucks at being a Cub Scout; he's always late for meetings and trips; he lies and makes things up; he wets his sleeping bag; he stares uncomfortably at the other boys in the shower... all of which leads to him being picked on by most of the other kids in his scout pack, and even one of its adult leaders. Sounds like their weekend camping trip to a remote and supposedly haunted part of the Belgian wilderness is going to be fun times for all. Except Sam.

REALLY, HE'S JUST MISUNDERSTOOD.

In an effort to scare the piss out of the kids, the scout leaders tell them the creepy story of Kai; a werewolf boy that is rumored to stalk the local woods at night, and who just might be on the hunt for Cub Scout blood! This Urban Legend turns out to be more true than they could have ever imagined when Sam sees Kai in the woods. When he tells the others about the encounter, they beat him up and call him names, because they hate him. At least the sexy Jasmin feels bad for him and tries to protect him. *What a hot, young chick is doing going camping with a pack of Cub Scouts is another matter altogether.

"ALRIGHT GUYS, RAISE YOUR HANDS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL SAM AND LEAVE HIM BURIED IN THE WOODS."

So it turns out that not only is Kai real, but that he has an equally creepy father, and they really enjoy booby-trapping the forest and killing people for fun. It's a bonding experience. Of course this means that Sam, Jasmine, and the rest of the Cub Scout pack are most likely going to die painful deaths... unless of course Sam loses his shit and kills Kai and his father first, which could very well happen. Mass child murder ensues.

PRETTY SURE THAT'S THE CREEPY VERSION OF THE MASK FROM CRASH BANDICOOT.

The first thing that we have to say about Cub is that it's a gorgeous movie to behold. As striking as its visuals are, you'd never know that this movie was partially crowd-funded by looking at it. It honestly looks every bit as good as most bigger Studio pictures do, and maybe even better in some ways. Cub also has a rhythmic and intense score that reminds us a lot of something you might hear in an older Giallo flick, which is always a great thing in our book. Hell, one of the character's ringtones was the theme to Suspiria, so at least some of those Giallo-esque touches had to be a deliberate homage of sorts.

Cub was also a nasty, bloody little movie.

Time and time again, it's the European Horror movies that tend to thrill us the most. They usually, unashamedly go to the places that most U.S. Horror flicks don't, and they do so with a style and voice all their own. If Cub were made here in the U.S. (and given its content, I can't imagine that it ever would be), it would most likely be watered down to a "safe" and morally acceptable level. We Americans seem to be able to accept kids doing the killing onscreen, but kids being killed onscreen? Well that is somehow too taboo for our delicate Western sensibilities. We're definitely hypocritical like that.

We give Jonas Govaerts and Roel Mondelaers all the credit in the world for having the balls to take the story of Cub to the dark places that it needed to go to be effective, and not holding back on the nasty stuff when things do get dark. And they definitely do.

We also found it really odd that as unfamiliar with the cast as we were, they still somehow felt familiar to us. Maybe that's a testament to the good job that they did, or maybe it's because we're delusional. I can't say for sure. Either way, the leads in this movie all did a great job, especially the young Maurice Luijten. For what was essentially his first big acting job, he was fantastic as Sam. Evelien Bosmans was also fairly impressive as Jasmin.

TOO CUTE TO DIE.

The twist at the end threw us for a bit of a loop, and the more we think about it, the more we don't like it. It works well for the story, and it was nice to see a Horror movie do something so unexpected for a change, but we would have rather seen things go the other way. We can't get any more specific than that, lest we spoil things, but you'll understand what we mean when you see it.

POOR SAM. EVEN THE OUTCAST FERAL WILDERNESS BOY WANTS TO KILL HIM.

Why does the poor dog always have to suffer? And in this case, why so horribly?!?

SPUDS MACKENZIE IS IN THIS.

The first kill doesn't happen until about 35 minutes in, but once the seal is broken, there are some nice gory set pieces throughout the remainder of the movie. The last 15 minutes are particularly brutal.

THIS SCENE RIGHT HERE...

There's one scene of light sexual activity, but being that this is a movie about Cub Scouts, there's nothing naked or steamy to be found here.

Even in Belgium, camping is for suckers. Also, so is being a Cub Scout.

WE KNOW WHAT THOSE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE DREAMING ABOUT TONIGHT.

Cub is a movie that is as exciting as it is disturbing, and that's just how we like it. It's not a perfect movie, but it hit enough of the right notes to make it a really good one. We'll definitely be looking forward to seeing whatever it is that director Jonas Govaerts does next. 

B+

If you really want to see Cub, you can order it on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon.de right now, provided you have some sort of Region-Free player. If not, then you'll have to wait patiently until it's picked up for U.S. distribution, which will hopefully be be sometime later this year.

Evelien Bosmans is a Belgian QT pie.