Mostly I enjoyed this film. I liked that much is from the little boy's veiwpoint. There is a certain suspense and foreboding throughout, both physical and imagined. There are many small details that fill out the story. There is a scene at night when the boy is scared to pass by steps leading down to a dark place, and he jumps past them to minimize his exposure to whatever evils may be lurking down there...details like this remind me of the fear a child feels. He is a believable little boy, never seems like we are watching "acting". The parents are believable also. There are many moody shots of the forrest...that get a bit redundant and don't really lead anywhere. The ending is abrupt...and unsatisfying. When a story draws you in, you have a investment of time and concern for it. When the ending doesn't fill the emotional space it has created in your mind...it leaves you feeling frustrated and like you have been ripped off. The film is well shot and put togeather, I would just like to see a little more time on the script, concerning the ending, and also exploring/expanding the indian/spirit angle.

Does it compare to gifted British writer Algernon Blackwoods chilling story? Not really.........but I have to admit that I was shocked concerning how much I enjoyed this film particularly the second time around. Now.......there are many opinions on why people like or dislike this movie so I don't want to be disrespectful of the views of others, but I honestly felt that for the most part that director Larry Fessenden made a pretty unique & errie film.

However.....I would not really class it as conventional "horror" but rather a tale of supernatural legend/lore if that makes any sense? A dear friend who is a production designer/artist was a guest at a special
screening of Phantasm in NY a couple years ago & Fessenden attended as he was screening a new film as well. My friend remarked to him that he & I really enjoyed Wendigo & how difficult it is to find new & innovative stuff, but we were a little put off by some of the creature shots that he chose to use in the film while there were shots in the special features that looked much better ,but other than that the film was pretty tight. Needless to say this did not go over well with the somewhat jaded director & he refused to reply? This is why I try to be a little careful because this comment closed the door on getting other interesting aspects regarding the film. All in all, the atmospere was great, shot entirely on location in rural upstate NY in the dead of winter & even without the snow you feel the cold dark woods & trust me, the mood throughout the entire film is unsettling & creepy.It very effectively conveys gloom & despair, plus.... the acting is first rate & the Native American score is quite haunting so to me, this is a very well put together film that I would highly recomend to anybody thats into errie local legends & lore or just spooky stories in general.

It had no plot and no point. All it is, is a family running into a creepy white trash stalker who shoots at their house and peeks in the window.had a disapearing indian, which made no since what so ever, and all of the sudden at the near end of the movie, a deer thing that looks like a life size stick doll from "The Blair witch project" shows up. Windigo is actually mentioned 3 times in the whole movie and is actually a bad representation of the legend. Now don't you people get mad at me for stating my own oppinion, I belive that everyone is entitled to their own oppinion, and my oppinion is that this movie sucks.

This creepy indie film has a family heading out to upstate New York to a friend's cabin to get a bit of a vacation. On their way they hit a deer and earn the ire of a local named Otis. Otis and friend had been tracking the deer for hours. An antler was cracked by the accident making it worth much less. Eventually they manage to leave the hunters behind and make it to the house. The next day they go into town for some supplies and the boy meets a strange Native American who teaches him about the legend of the Wendigo. While not scared at first by the legend, the fear generated by the incident with the hunters begins to plague the boy.

Later, the father is injured while sledding with the boy. The boy gets scared and believes he is chased by the Wendigo. He is found hours later by his mother. Together they set out to find the father. They find him and the boy has another run in with the Wendigo. The action then moves to the hospital where the father receives treatment. The boy sees the Indian again and the film ends. Just stops. That's it.

According to an interview with the writer/director there is no monster in the film. He is trying to show how myths come about to help explain the world. But that doesn't explain the mysterious Indian that no one else seems to see. Most of the acting was pretty good although some of the hospital personnel were poorly portrayed (I especially didn't like the casual and cavalier way one staff member delivered some news and sauntered away). When the film ended I felt a little gypped. There were plot threads I wanted to know more about. We have a main character who may be wounded or dead and we never find out either way. There is so much more to the story and it is just not there.

Some of the special effects were quite good despite the small budget. Some were really quite eerie and creepy. I might have enjoyed the result a little better if I had not seen the interview but I would have still felt it just stopped instead of ending properly. Some good points and some bad. More like a promising first draft than a final. Unfortunately there will be no final coming. This is it. My feelings are mixed about this one so you will have to make up your own mind as to the importance of the flaws.

This movie is a decent movie that focuses much more on suspense than just having people get killed every 2-3 minutes. The characters are well-developed so that viewers actually care about what happens to them as opposed to generic horror movies.