The Hike, Bloodied Babes in the Woods

A gritty feminist anthem?  Or, perhaps, misogynistic exploitation?  Or, and I dare say...are those choices really the same thing?  They're sultry babes and soon they will be sweaty, bloodied, strung up, humiliated, raped, tortured, and hunted.  Right out of a plot line for one of those "I Spit on Your Grave" films, and at the same time a metaphor for western civilization's treatment of females. Hard to watch and gory, today we will look at 2011's "The Hike," directed by Rupert Bryan.  This film is from the U.K.

Five hot babes, the wealthy Charlie (Jemma Bolt), army vet Kate (Zara Phythian), all of our favorite Ellie (Lisa-Marie Long), Leanna (Stephanie Sladatan), and super model Torri (Barbara Nedeljakova) head into the woods for an all-girl weekend.  Oh, by the way...the woods?  Yeah...as our film begins we see a lot of beautiful babes hunted down, strung up, and...well you'll see, in those woods. The ladies all look good in their shorts and soon come across...men!!!  Eek!  All men are evil, so is the mantra of this film.  Okay, perhaps the movie makers got that right.  All Hell breaks loose from that point on.  The aforementioned carnage engulfs our cast and soon, the lovelies are bloodied, broken, violated, and humiliated.

Hard to watch at this point...but it will get harder, yet.  Halfway through the film we are seeing a hybrid of three films; "I Spit on Your Grave," "Mother's Day" (the 1980 one), and "Mystic Pizza."  Throw out the "Mystic Pizza" elements of this film and we have a gritty horror/thriller.  We like the women in this film, mostly because they are attractive.  Now we see them with a bit of fight in them.  The men will then also go through some beatings and carnage.  Axes, traps, knives, and attitude will whittle down the cast quickly.  Oh yes...eventually the film will come to the ending.  The ending?  Talk about uncomfortable metaphors...wait until you see the end of this one.  Though we hope all our lovely ladies survive, we know that won't happen...but will any of them escape the horror in the woods?

This is a fast paced film with a lot of social commentary.  Whether the metaphor will be noticed by the peeps who view "The Hike" is a big question.  From a purely carnal mindset, sweaty babes in  much peril at the hands of psychos is the only plot line that will be important.  Perhaps this film will serve as a warning to the fairer sex that what stands in their way to empowerment is something a lot more dangerous than some idiot bloke who grunts a lot.  See "The Hike," and I recommend you watch it with a carnal mindset.