2012 King of the Hill Movie Challenge

Drive v Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
This isn't a 1v1v1.  This is two movies going head to head, one of which has "vs." in the title.  One movie is a dark action flick that bested a classic.  The other is a dark comedy that both makes fun of and pays homage to common horror tropes.  However, only one of these movies can survive the 2012 King of the Hill Movie Challenge.

For those who do not know, the 2012 King of the Hill Movie Challenge is my system for determining the best movie of year that I saw. One movie from each month will be selected and, at the end of the year, I will do a tournament style showdown where they will take each other on until the final movie has been selected. Bracket placement will be determined by the number of movies the monthly movie faced and won.

Challenger:  Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Director: Eli Tucker

Writers: Eli Tucker and Eli Jurgenson

Starring: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, and Katrina Bowden

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a difficult movie to box in and explain.  The movie is about two red necks on vacation.  The movie is about a group of kids out partying.  The movie is about the ridiculous tropes of horror flicks.  The movie is all of these things rolled into one.  Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) are just trying to have a nice relaxing time in the woods when a group of kids mistake them as killers.  This mistake comes from when Dale rescues Alison (Katrina Bowden) from drowning.  The kids think they have killed Alison and everything goes downhill fast.

The movie pays homage to several movies.  Honestly, I couldn't tell you half of them; I'm not a big horror fan.  The cliches addressed in the movie are what make it for me.  It covers everything from creepy cops, to red neck stereo types, to evil pit bulls.  Honestly, there wasn't a cliche I could think of that the movie didn't tackle.  I'd say more, but to go too far into what I loved about the movie would require spoiling it.  I encourage you to watch the movie if you don't mind blood and gore.

Summary:
Drive is a unique story with an unnamed character.  Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a compilation of dozens of stories and cliches, but told in a way to make fun of them all, and yet still pay homage to the very movies it is mocking.  Honestly, it should be a hard call, but it isn't.  Tucker and Dale vs. Evil tackles something I hate, cliches.

Winner:  Tucker and Dale vs. Evil