Never Hike Alone (2017)

 Never Hike Alone (2017) dir. Vincente DiSanti, Womp Stomp Films

It's the last Friday the 13th of the year and the only one for a while. We've see maddened mothers, hockey and sack headed killers, and we've gone to space and reboots. What's next?

Kyle McLeod (Andrew Leighty) is a hiker. Not just a regular hiker, no, he's what you'd call an influencer. He goes where no ordinary trailblazers go and films it all for the viewers at home. 

So what better place for an extreme nature hike than the closed off Camp Crystal Lake? McLeod hoofs it through the woods all day, ignoring the various warnings signs and barbed wire until he finds Camp Crystal Lake. He spends the day walking around the ruined campgrounds and musing on his phone. He checks out a 1980 issue of Playboy before finding a crime marker in the old showers marked '6'.

Continuing his stroll through the grounds, McLeod keeps finding more markers until he finds number one, which suggests the victim was beheaded near the lake...

At this point Jason (Vincente DiSanti) makes it pretty clear he doesn't care for trespassers and 'axe's' him to leave. Can McLeod escape? Will he learn to hike with a buddy?

Shockingly good; the cameo of Thom Matthews at the end came as a surprise. I rarely discuss fan films, but when they're this good I can make the exception. Seriously, the visuals are breathtaking and the action frantic. Everything a good horror should be and I'm looking forward to seeing more from these fellas.