It’s been written that, “the woods are lovely, dark and deep” but are they really? After watching the opening 10 minutes of Guts On The Chainsaw (with narration from Robert Stone), you’ll be questioning that statement yourself. After all, according to the movie, there are over 407 open cases of missing people from the national parks in Pennsylvania alone. Imagine what the number is across the United States?! Frightening stuff, indeed!
Guts On The Chainsaw, exploring (or is that exploiting?!?!) The Great Outdoors, offers one explanation for all these missing people and it ain’t too pretty. It begins with shotgun blasts at an unsuspecting worker. It ends in a bloodbath as one demented fuck takes out yet another victim.
With just the right amount of oozing sleaze, Guts On The Chainsaw delivers the B-grade goods thanks to the direction and screenwriting of Ryan Cavalline, who also serves as the film’s producer, of Legend Hunters Films as he brings Pennsylvania folklore to bloody life right before our eyes.
Nova (Nikki Carlson), a recovering drug addict, is having a recurring dream. She’s being chased by an ax-wielding maniac ala The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as she runs like Hell away from this monster. He’s no man. That’s according to her dream, mind you. Yet, all arrows point to the fact that she’s exactly where she needs to be: chasing sunsets in the sky. This is folk horror at its core and, on its super low budget, Guts On The Chainsaw needs to be recognized as such.
Because Nova is doing this nature trail to Hell on her own. Gulp. Her friend drops her off and agrees to bring her stuff to the next check station, but it’s just Nova out on this hike through the woods and, as we listen to her debate the dream and its realness in her mind, we become aware of one thing: she is not alone out here.
And that should scare the shit out of you, Dear Reader. 
With horror-filled episodic encounters filling in the blanks as Nova goes on her walkabout, Guts On The Chainsaw earns its bloody stars. The scenes, with music from composer Kristan Aguilar and digital effects by Bryan Bakker and Embassey, are disturbing as Hell, full of guts and gristle most studio-backed films shy away from, and they work to build an unsettling atmosphere where this type of monster can be allowed to permeate.
Someone or something is taunting her. Teasing her with explicit visions of ax-wielding mayhem and she’s so confused that she is not entirely clear as to what is real and what is just a dream thanks to the repeating vision of being chased on a dirt road by this maniac.
Co-starring Eddie Benevich, Peter Blessel, Adam Holmes, Joshua Reed, and Dave Rupert as various inbred members of The Family, Guts On The Chainsaw rather successfully spins its Texas Chainsaw Massacre influences into a low budget slasher with gasoline, gears, and guts. It is now available on streaming platforms this summer, but is now available on blu-ray and DVD through www.legendhuntersfilms.com.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 80 mins
Director: Ryan Cavalline
Writer: Ryan Cavalline
Cast: Eddie Benevich; Nikki Carlson
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Based on Pennsylvania Folklore.
Memorable Movie Quote: "These people... living in these mountains, if you see any of them, avoid them."
Distributor: Legend Hunter Films
Official Site: https://legendhuntersfilms.com/
Release Date: February 11, 2023
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Nova sets off on one last hike through the backwoods of Pennsylvania to face her fears. But watching from the forest is a clan of inbred cannibals with an irrepressible taste for human flesh and monstrous brutality.
