22/37
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 taking down hundreds of beavers. The film’s estimated budget was around $150,000. Director Mike Cheslik estimated the mascot costumes cost around $10,000, and the crew bought all the costumes online. After Watson Beaver “faints”, his whiskers fall off and land in the snow when he stands up. He wears them again in the next scene, although he walks away from them without picking them up. Mentioned on Film Junk Podcast: Episode 940: Immaculate (2024). Jean Kayak and His Acme Applejack Written and produced by Wayne Tews Engineering and co-produced by Karl Landwehr This is a film I saw at the Nightmares Film Festival. It doesn’t quite fall into horror, but I still wanted to write a review. I should point out that this isn’t a movie I would normally enjoy. Watching it in a crowd as it was getting close to midnight was a fun experience though. The movie theater antics of co-writer/star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews also add to the charm. I should also add; this was an Ohio premiere. In this movie, we have Jean Kayak (Tews) who has an orchid and makes apple cider. He’s a drunk who just likes to have fun. One day, beavers came and destroyed one of his large barrels that he keeps his cider in. This causes everything to fall apart and winter comes. Jean has no luck catching food and struggles to survive. Then Jean starts trading in furs. He watches a bearded man make a fortune. So much so that the guy running the precinct, Doug Mancheski, wants him to marry his daughter, who is a furrier, Olivia Graves. Jean has a tough fight to become a trapper, and that will put him in a fight with the beavers in the area. They’ve created an epic dam that holds a lot more. So I was a little familiar with what I was getting here, having watched Tews’ previous film called Lake Michigan Monster. It’s in a similar tone. There’s CGI and background animation. Those techniques are also used in the character movements and just bringing it to life. It takes a long time and I’m impressed. It helps that we don’t get a lot of dialogue. Sometimes it’s presented like a silent film, we even get title cards. It also reminds me of cartoons where our characters didn’t talk. It looks cheap, but what’s involved is a lot harder than it sounds. Following that idea, they tell a narrative story without using a lot of dialogue. The things we see get repetitive. I’ll admit that by the end I was exhausted and wanted to go home. I don’t want to discount the fact that as it gets closer to midnight, it’s harder to stay awake each day. I will say this though. This movie is made to be watched in a theater or to have people over for drinks and just enjoy it. I can imagine people hating it. I’m telling you as someone who likes serious and somber movies, it’s a palette cleanser that if you get used to it, is a lot of fun. I haven’t even mentioned that all the animals are just people in costumes. That makes it even better with the antics we see. If you get a chance to see it in the setting I mentioned, definitely check it out. My rating: 6 out of 10.