Pitchfork, 2016

Just to be completely transparent, I couldn’t finish this film. This is something that rarely happens to me. Typically, no matter the quality or content, I will finish any movie I start. Not so with Glenn Douglas Packard’s Pitchfork. The film tells the story of a young, gay man who travels to his parent’s home in the rural countryside with a group of friends. Soon after they arrive, the group is terrorized by a masked killer with a pitchfork for a hand.

Some critics have said Pitchfork has a low-budget charm and some moments of camp, but to me, everything from the dialogue to the plot to the brightly colored shots of the fields felt forced and unfun. Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard from Heaven of Horror says about the film, “The core concept is great, but unfortunately the execution doesn’t match this.” Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times called the film, “tediously routine.”

The queer aspect of the film, namely the main character, is kind of just left on the surface. The film doesn’t do much with it. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter describes it:

“The director and co-scripter Darryl F. Gariglio at least attempt to provide some thematic depth to the tale revolving around Hunter (Brian Raetz), a young man who returns to his rural Michigan home after informing his parents and sister that he's gay. Apparently needing moral support, he arrives with a gaggle of New York City friends in tow, all of them displaying the sort of raging hormones that are de rigueur for films of this type. It turns out that Hunter's disapproving conservative father is the least of his problems, because soon he and his friends are beset by the titular homicidal madman (Daniel Wilkinson) who, as we eventually learn, has serious mommy issues. Before the gory mayhem begins, however, the kids put on an elaborate, sexy barn dance, as if auditioning for a remake of Footloose on the Playboy Channel.”

Glenn Douglas Packard is also a choreographer, so the random dance sequence makes sense, and honestly, it was the most charismatic aspect of the film. Packard is also queer himself, and some of the story was inspired by his own personal experience. He mentions in an interview with Huffpost, “When I sat down with the writer of this film [Darryl F. Gariglio], I had all these ideas in my head. I based a lot of the events on me coming out to my family. I lived in New York City at the time and would always bring my friends back with me to the farm to make me feel a little more comfortable around my dad and mom.”

While I’m happy Packard was able to make a film that reflects his interests and self, I can’t say I recommend Pitchfork. Just skip this one, and if you’re looking for a queer slasher experience, try Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge or Sleepaway Camp.