The Hike (2021)

There has never been a movie produced quite like "The Hike". The film is based on three true stories. Two are based on the wild adventures of the producer's brother: a hiker who frequents the Great Smoky Mountains.

The third story is based on the production company's own experiences: Big N Funky Productions' own possible run in with an infamous Native American legend while filming one of their paranormal TV shows. The movie starts off with one of the most unique horror movie intros ever: two scenes, deep in the wilderness, showing two different murders, one playing forward and one playing in reverse. The movie's main characters, Robin and Vinnie, are introduced next. They are driving into the remote forest for a three day hike. Robin is 3/4 Native American, and wants to show her boyfriend, Vinnie, a place in the National Park that was special to her when she was a little girl. Vinnie is obviously uncomfortable in the woods, but he is trying to be a decent guy. Vinnie starts clowning around, telling funny stories and trying to have a good time despite his disdain for the outdoors, when they start running into odd things in the woods. Robin finds a polaroid picture of a partially naked, bound woman with her face marked out. As disturbing as that is, they soon find other things in the woods that throws them off even more: an abandoned camera that contains disturbing images, more Polaroids of naked, bound people, an ancient necklace with a mysterious aura, and a stranger in the forest that seems to know them, but then vanishes. Things start to get surreal for the couple after they eat some potent 'shrooms before bedtime. Robin, dressed in Native regalia, appears before Vinnie and leads him to a cliff face where he almost falls off before being saved by another stranger. When they reunite on the main trail, Robin swears this was not her. The couple tries to find help from a forest ranger as more victims die in other parts of the forest and unidentified men are spying on nearly their every move. Robin and Vinnie stumble upon the Cherokee word U'tlun'ta written in blood in an abandoned cabin. Robin panics at first, but when she calms down she tells Vinnie about a Cherokee legend named Spearfinger: a rock golem with a long, obsidian finger that can shapeshift, manipulate nature, and eats her victim's livers after piercing their sides. This does not affect Vinnie, who assures her that things are gonna be OK. Eventually, a group of three, well armed, large men approach and threaten Robin and Vinnie at their campsite. The three men steal back the camera Robin found, and then the two groups separate after a heated discussion. Robin and Vinnie assume these three strangers are the reason for the disturbing Polaroids and try to hightail out of the woods. After a few hours, two of the three strangers, Luke and Travis, decide they need to follow Robin and Vinnie again and give chase. Robin and Vinnie have several close calls with them but successfully slip into a cave to hide. The couple spend the night in the cave, but once again, someone or something that resembles Robin appears to Vinnie and leads him off deeper into the cave on his own, leaving Robin in the cave by herself, with no flashlight. With everyone discombobulated, scared, angry, and at their wit's end, the final fight between good and evil takes place in the Great Smoky Mountains begging the question: Who will survive "The Hike?"Critics have noted the beautiful scenery, wildly unpredictable plot, the humor, the dialogue and the tension. But "The Hike" is probably best described as, as one reviewer stated, " Clerks in a horror movie set in the woods. " In addition to tension, gore, mystery, comedy, adult situations and the paranormal, the film features the longest four person fight scenes in cinematic history.