Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Man Vs.’

Written by Scott Edwards

As the years have progressed, I have found myself watching many different reality television shows and while they are far from my favorite thing to watch, they are just too gripping to pass up. The survival shows however, really won me over when they hit the airwaves. Learning how to survive when your plane goes down in the mountains, yeah, it could happen. Learning how to make do in the wilderness with next to nothing, well, I must admit that it could help if you are ever in that situation. While I do now understand that even these shows are not real, I think that the message that they get across is the most important thing… make a fire.
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Being the star of his show Man Vs., Doug Woods is ready for his next adventure into the wilderness.  Choosing Canada this time, he has to get his crew and guide’s act together to make it up the river and get set up for the night. Arriving at his first location, Doug is able to go about his business in front of the camera with little to worry about, he even gets a fire lit before the sun sets for the night. Checking in with his crew that are a couple clicks away and wishing them a good night, Doug is in for something that he did not expect.

Waking up to a loud thundering noise that rattles the ground, Doug starts his next day heading out to see what it could have been. Seeing massive damage to the trees in the woods, he comes to the decision that it was probably a meteor, since his satellite phone is no longer working. Inspecting the lake and seeing dead fish rising to the top, he knows that there might be something strange in the water and decides to set up traps for the smaller prey in his surrounding area. As the day passes by, Doug checks on his traps to see that he was successful. Making for good TV, Doug shows what else you need to do while trying to survive in the wild, specifically keeping his food far away from his camp.

Hearing something lurking about during the night, Doug is not able to get any sleep and finds that his food has been taken from him. Wanting to know how a wolf would be able to get the rabbit that he hung from the tree, he is starting to notice that other things around his campsite are not where they should be. First noticing that his satellite phone has been taken, then seeing pieces on his chess board have been moved, Doug is certain that someone is playing a joke on him. Thinking that it might be his team, Doug sets out to show them what is what, but when seeing that whomever is messing with his show is out to hurt him, Doug is forced to turn his survival skills on full and try to escape the wilderness with his life.

One of the things that I really liked about how this movie played out was the storyline of Doug being a pain in the butt for his team to deal with. As everyone’s future hangs in the balance of his performance, Doug seems to get it now more than ever. I wish there was something more to whatever damaged the trees since that left plenty of wreckage in its path, but you do find out quickly what is in the woods, looking to make a show of its own. The thought of being hunted by someone or something never sits well with anybody, and I enjoyed seeing how Doug changed his demeanor when finding out he was next on the menu. With creepy woods, a secluded campsite, movement in the shadows, a hunter that takes notes from the best and an unbelievable ending, it really is a fun ride and might make you think twice about being too far away from humanity, especially when the spit starts to hit the fan. Stay Scared. 

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