Good afternoon, House of Madness residents:
Before I get into today's review, I just wanted to mention that the House of Madness just hit 200 posts! Whether I'm writing a review, a preview, or a short story matters little in the grand scheme of things for me as long as I'm writing; it really is a wonderful escape for me and does wonders for my mental health, which has been in the gutter lately. Regardless of whether I get five visitors or five hundred on the daily, those of you that do show up to read my nonsense mean the world to me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. With all that positivity and gushing, I'm sure to get a visit from someone in HR, so we'd best get back to what we do best before I suffer another severed appendage for insubordination - it's not easy being held to such bloody low standards, let me tell you.
Ava (Rose Lane Sanfilippo) is a traveling vlogger known as 'Van Girl", who travels across the country and shares her experiences with her 600,000 subscribers. One night, a tow truck driver named Kellen (Austin Scott) happens across her van stopped along the side of the road, and finds Ava covered in blood and unconscious after her van has apparently struck a deer. After some rehab and hard work, Ava is back on her feet, and "Van Girl' has become 'Cabin Girl' as she decides to pack in the traveling lifestyle for one more suited to her rudimentary one.
As Ava explores around her new cabin and town, she comes across a desecrated memorial of a girl named Hannah Granger, and she sets off to learn more about the dead girl's backstory, even though she's much of a tyro when it comes to sleuthing. As all this is happening, we can see a man (Michael Rispoli) that seems to be stalking Ava from a distance, but we're unsure what his motives are, other than possibly being a crazed internet fan. As Ava searches for more of the truth about Hannah, she begins to slip both mentally and emotionally, and the stranger watching her every move from a distance begins to close in, and make his presence known.
Considering "Cabin Girl" is a Tubi exclusive, I wasn't really expecting much, but by the time the eventual 'twist' we could tell was coming was revealed, I found the film to be quite well done as far as acting, atmosphere, and production value. The main problem, and once you've seen the film for yourself is that the 'twist' just doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you really break it down, which leaves everything you've just witnessed more or less redundant and silly. If you can turn your brain off and set the 'twist' aside, "Cabin Girl" is actually a fun little flick, and you can definitely find worse ways to spend 90-ish minutes.
Madness Meter: 5.2/10
NB
