The Raking (2017) - Should have fast forwarded more of it

'The Raking' is a horror movie that, if you tuned in midway through, you'd probably think it looked pretty reasonable - for a general B-movie of its genre.  It has a high (again, for the genre) definition feel to it (although, was it me or did the camera slip out of focus here and there?) with reasonable acting talent.  And, because of this, I stuck with it until the end.

The story is about five college students who take a field trip out into the American wilderness in order to complete an assignment, but naturally fall foul of a local monster.  A decent enough premise, but there just isn't enough that's different to make it stand out.

Unfortunately, there's not really much here to recommend, as it's pretty run-of-the-mill.  The characters are quite unlikable and bland (although, as mentioned, the acting and script aren't as bad as others) and - naturally - played by actors about twice as old as the teenagers they're supposed to be.

It's kind of split into three 'acts.' The beginning has the students arrive at the desert (bumping into the obligatory 'wise man' who gives a vague warning as to what horrors they may face) then instantly get attacked.  The second part is the longest - and most forgettable - as it's all in one house where the characters just talk.  Then you have the final bit where the blood starts to flow - and is about the best (and shortest) section.

When you see the monster it's really nothing special.  It's a nice enough mask, but it's just a guy in a costume and reminded me of one of the 'extra' vampires you could see in the background of the classic 'From Dusk to Dawn.'

Like I say, I stuck with it because it always felt like someone was going to happen to make my investment worth it.  Yeah, the last ten minutes picked up the pace, but, apart from that, I could probably have fast forwarded a lot more and not missed out on anything.

5/10 a hard trek, a bit like unicycling to Mordor and back