Review: Low-budget slasher ‘Capps Crossing’ gets lost in the woods of overexplaining

With movies as small as “Capps Crossing,” it’s often unfair to pick on production values, location or even the acting. Independent filmmaking means small budgets, and audiences shouldn’t expect that they look and sound like big studio films. Unfortunately, the worst fault in this horror movie isn’t the amateur performances, beginner-level editing or the special effects; it’s the dreadfully dumb script.

Set in the California campground of the title, “Capps Crossing” begins with David (Brian Cory) murdering a few lonely geo-cachers as they hike through the forest in search of their treasure. A year later, three couples camp in an isolated area of the woods and David chooses them for his next victims. He begins taking them out in a manner that won’t be surprising to anyone who has seen a horror movie before.

Written, directed and produced by Mike Stahl, “Capps Crossing” does feature a bit of nicely disgusting gore and some interesting camera angles from cinematographer Alejandro Guimoye. However, the script’s pacing is off, with the long break between the initial violence and the later killings creating boredom rather than tension. Stahl’s expository dialogue has his unlikable characters constantly reminding viewers of their relationship to each other, with “bro” and “sis” being said more frequently than characters’ names. Regardless of these connections, we can’t care about the people on screen, which makes their inevitable demise even more pointless.

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‘Capps Crossing’

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 24 minutes

Playing: Arena Cinelounge Sunset, Hollywood

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