Alan Tudyk

Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby take this opportunity to present my belief that Alan Tudyk is one of the most under-used actors of his generation. I’m not sure where I first saw him but it was Joss Whedon’s Firefly that really sold me on Tudyk and his skills, that show alone placing incredible demands on him to run the gamut from serious drama to comedy to action and Tudyk handled it all flawlessly. I became a fan and expected great things but ... well ... he’s keeping busy enough not to have to worry about paying the rent but not nearly as busy in or as high profile as he deserves to be.

Enter Tucker And Dale Versus Evil, in which Tudyk plays Tucker, one half of a goofy but friendly and incredibly well meaning pair of hillbillies who are about to be plunged into a mess of misconceptions, carnage and widespread bloodshed thanks to a group of college teens who a) believe that Tucker and Dale are evil, and b) are hopelessly inept when it comes to eliminating said evil.

This. Looks. Fantastic. When horror comedies fail its because they either miss on the character work or never quite find the appropriate balance between horror and comedy. All good on all fronts here. The characters are all solid and believable, the riffing on stereotype spot on, the level of blood and gore is impressive and - most importantly - the jokes are funny.

Sales agents Voltage Pictures have released their sales promo for this into the public leading up to the American Film Market. And, despite the temp sound and effects and the rough edges left in, this was one very smart move. Because if this movie comes close to living up to the promo they’re going to have buyers beating down their door.