Use Your Eyes

Wither Team Review

Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund’s film Wither is certainly a familiar story. Released a mere four months after the Evil Dead remake, it’s safe to say no plagiarism was involved, but these two films are strikingly similar. I, however, feel that Wither is a superior film in many aspects.

Its gut-wrenchingly playful with its violence, and takes no time at all to deliver. The practical effects are nice and the blood flows in gallons. A few cgi shots can be noticed, as with the whiting out of the “demon” eyes and a few gunshot impacts, but the cgi is used so rarely that it blends with the practical effects and is really only used to enhance a few minor details.

Limb severing, stabbings, and blunt object beatings are aplenty in this film and it will most likely satisfy your bloodlust. I wish I could say at its core, it’s got wonderful characters with layers and archs….actually I don’t. This is a “random cabin in the woods” film. Paper characters, ultra violence and fun…and I love it!

You probably will, too, unless you’re too uptight to have fun with a splatterfest like this. Wither packs a lot of movie into its 95 minute runtime, which is good for people who aren’t fond of the ‘slow burn.’

I really only had a problem with some of the camera work; the cinematography is less innovative than seen in Evil Dead and can feel a bit clunky at times. This can easily be overlooked because not everyone can have the flair of Aaron Morton with Sam Raimi and Fede Alvarez looking over their shoulder.

I really liked this movie and I fully recommend it to everyone….oh, unless you can’t watch horror with subtitles, and if that’s the case, I feel sorry for you.

This film gets the Rottin’ Roger Demarco seal of approval with 3.5 milk-white eyes out of 5.


Some filmmakers are subtle in their approach, while others are more blatant about flaunting their artistic inspiration. So is the case with Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund’s gore film, Wither.

From the foul speaking demons to the bloody vomiting, it is clear that both directors are huge Evil Dead fanboys. It would be a silly mistake, however, to simply dismiss this film as just another horror rip-off. Yes, Laguna and Wiklund borrow some ideas from the famous franchise, but they still manage to bring enough originality to the table to help carry the film along its 95 runtime.

I have to say that I was not very happy with the CG work that was strewn throughout the film, but the practical effects are impressive enough to make you forget all about it. This film is certainly one of the goriest I’ve seen, even managing to outdo the films it was inspired by, if you can imagine that.

Their isn’t much to go on in terms of why this is all happening, but with only a few short minutes of a ‘backstory,’ we get all that we need. It is that lack of storytelling that allows so much room for action and carnage, which I’m sure will please even the most jaded of gore lovers.

If you enjoy foreign horror films as much as I do and want to have an all around bloody experience, definitely get yours hands on a copy of Wither. I give this film 3 basement demons out of 5.

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