46/10
In this 19th-century supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become the greatest fur trapper in North America by defeating hundreds of beavers. The film’s estimated budget was around $150,000. Director Mike Cheslik estimated that the mascot costumes cost around $10,000, and the crew purchased all of the costumes online. After Watson Beaver “passed out,” his mustache falls off and lands in the snow as he stands up. He wears it again in the next scene, though he walks away without picking it up. Referenced in the Film Junk Podcast: Episode 940: Immaculate (2024). Jean Kayak and Her Acme Applejack Written and produced by Wayne Tews Designed and co-produced by Karl Landwehr. Now, this is a movie I saw at the Nightmares Film Festival. It doesn’t fall into the horror category, but I still wanted to write a review. I should start by saying that this is not normally a movie I would enjoy. Watching this one with a crowd, however, as the day approached midnight, was a fun experience. The on-screen antics of co-writer/star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews also contribute to this. I should also include; this was the Ohio premiere. For this movie, we have Jean Kayak (Tews) who owns an orchid and makes strong apple cider. He is a drunk who just likes to have a good time. One day, beavers come along and ruin one of his large barrels that contains his cider. This causes everything to fall apart and now it is winter. Jean has no luck catching food and is struggling to survive. Jean then goes into the fur trade. He sees a bearded man making a killing. So much so that the guy who runs the station, Doug Mancheski, wants him to marry his daughter, who is the furrier, Olivia Graves. Jean has an uphill battle to become a hunter and this will put him face to face with the beavers of the area. They have created an epic dam that is holding a lot more in. So I was somewhat familiar with what I would get here after seeing a previous film by Tews called Lake Michigan Monster. This one is in a similar vein. There is CGI and animation for the backgrounds. These techniques are also used with character movements and just bringing this to life in general. It takes a lot of time and I am impressed by it. What helps is that we don’t have much in the way of dialogue. This is presented as a silent film at times, we even have title cards. It also reminds me of cartoons where our characters didn’t speak. It sounds cheap, but what you get is a lot harder than it sounds. Following this idea, they tell a narrative story without using a lot of dialogue. The things we see do get repetitive. I will admit that as we got closer to the end, I was exhausted and ready to go home. I don’t want to take anything away from this, but staying awake the closer we get to midnight gets harder and harder each day. But I will say this. This movie is made for a movie theater experience or to have people over for drinks and just enjoy your time with it. I can see people hating on it. I’m telling you as someone who loves serious, dark movies, this is a palate cleanser that if you just go through with it, it’s a great time. I didn’t even mention that all the animals are just people in costumes. That makes it even better with the antics we’re seeing. If you get a chance to see this in the settings I said, jump on this one for sure. My rating: 6 out of 10.