It Waits is a straight-to-video feature, and it feels like one. I should have known going in that it would not live up to its concept. I was attracted to the promise of a beast straight out of Native American legend, what I got was a horror film filtered through the Lifetime channel and ending up like a movie about the dangers of drinking and dealing with your mistakes. I did not get much of a killer critter as I had hoped.
We open with a group of inquisitive Native Americans seeking out the reality behind one of their legends. Their search brings them to a rock wall through which they proceed to blast a hole. Behind the wall they discover paintings on the interior wall, then they hear something. Horror veterans will know that these types of actions never lead to anything good. Needless to say, this is the last we see of this group.
We are introduced to Dani (Cerina Vincent), a forest ranger with a past. She is stationed deep in the woods, and right from our first introduction we know she is troubled. She is sitting on the ground behind a desk with a bottle of vodka and tears in her eyes.
Now, this is where the film's troubles begin. For a long stretch, starting here, forget that this is a monster movie, we are now in the realm of made-for-television moral drama. The story delves into Dani's past, it seems that in the recent past she was responsible for the death of her girlfriend. She didn't own up to the accident, and has since driven a wedge between her and her boyfriend, and resulted in her taking this deep forest assignment where she can hide with her bottle.
Before long, said boyfriend, I guess ex-boyfriend at this point, arrives to check on her. She says she's fine, we get the requisite tender moment between the two, including one of the darkest love scenes ever filmed. Then they hear some noises, and a brief attack on the outpost reminds the audience that this is actually a monster movie.
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