Madison County (2011)★★☆☆☆

I was waffling between rating this a 2 or a 3 out of 5, but I think what made my decision for me was one female character’s (seemingly out of place and in poor taste) use of “don’t be gay” as a retort. Seriously? I’m realizing now that it’s been years (and more than the four since this was released) since I’ve heard that used as an insult.

The dialogue was otherwise mostly okay, and the acting wasn’t bad, but the pacing seemed way off and there were times that the background music was so loud I couldn’t hear what the characters were saying.

If you’re looking for an action-packed slasher film, this won’t satisfy you. Don’t let the opening scene fool you – that’s the most action you’ll see for about 45 minutes. There’s a (probably unintentionally) hilarious scene where an antagonist throws an axe at someone’s back but hits with the blunt end. I was laughing too hard to feel properly terrified through the next few moments.

I don’t really feel bad about spending 90 minutes on this one, but I definitely don’t feel good about it either. There are a couple of decently creepy scenes that are few and far between, and the antagonists themselves are definitely scary…but I’d recommend skipping this one unless you’ve got no other choice.