Tahoe Joe 3—A Epic Conclusion to an Unexpected Trilogy
It’s finally come down to this. Ever since I saw Dillon Brown’s Tahoe Joe, I’ve been quietly, yet eagerly waiting for a sequel. And after the sequel, a part 3. Now we’re finally here: Tahoe Joe 3: Concrete Wilderness. Despite my excitement, I’m also concerned. Trilogies are infamous for peaking at the second film; just take a look at The Godfather, The Dark Knight or even Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. Will the Tahoe Joe trilogy fall victim to this curse? Well, I’m about to find out.
A wildfire burns down a majority of Northern Nevada’s forests, leaving much of its wildlife displaced. This includes the elusive Bigfoot creature known as Tahoe Joe. A covert underground organization captures Tahoe Joe and brings him to their lab for experimentation. However, Joe manages to escape. Meanwhile, the “Joe Bros”, Michael Rock and Dillon Brown are recruited by a park ranger named Tori Beck (played by Hannah Welty) to help make sure Joe gets back home safely. Though reluctant to help due to past near-fatal run-ins with the creature, the Joe bros decide to give it one last hurrah. But during their mission, they soon realize that the possibility of a safe return may not be in the cards.
I love how every entry in the Tahoe Joe franchise has its own distinct tone while not feeling out of place in a trilogy. The first film has a meta-commentary and humorous found footage approach. The second was more The Terminator meets Resident Evil 4. What about the third film? If you ask me, it perfectly combines the first film’s meta-humor with a visceral slasher horror. While it lacks the second film’s atmospheric tension, adding first person slasher horror in a cryptid found footage film is a genius move on both Dillon and Mike’s part. It makes every scene with Joe far more intense and palpitating. This is on full display in the film’s midway point, where Mike, Dillon and Tori are hiding from Tahoe Joe in a horror memorabilia shop. Joe’s labored breathing combined with the pitch-black darkness and night vision lens really makes this entry the scariest of the trilogy.
Both Dillon and Mike combine their strongest suits into this epic conclusion. Dillon brings his keen eye for old school horror production and Mike beefs up the film’s core with his emotional storytelling. This new emotional core gives Tahoe Joe more depth than just a raging monster. He feels more akin to either King Kong in Peter Jackson’s King Kong or Godzilla in Legendary’s Monsterverse. While we get a small glimpse of Joe’s true character in the second film, where he helps Dillon and Mike fight the poachers, we’re given more of it in the third film. I love it when the monster is written as an actual character with its own personality and nature. Because when you write a creature as just another monster, that’s all you will get. This is also helped by Dale Slingland who brings the titular creature to life, bringing a physicality yet gentleness to the role that perfectly embodies a creature who just wants to be left in peace.
Finally, I have to give props to the acting and writing. Both Dillon and Mike have come a long way since the first Tahoe Joe. While their friendship was on full display in all three films, it feels the most organic and tangible here. You can tell that both Dillon and Mike feel much more comfortable in front of the camera, which is reflected in their banter and line delivery. And I have to give credit to Hannah Welty as Tori. She manages to add another layer to the Joe Bros’ dynamic by bringing a tenderness when dealing with Tahoe Joe. She’s one of the newest additions to the Horror Dadz Productions team and I’m thoroughly impressed with her versatility from Dustin Tamplen’s Midnight Feature to Dillon Brown’s The Summer We Died. And she knocks it out of the park in Tahoe Joe 3!
It’s rare for every entry to strike gold in a trilogy. But Dillon and Mike manage to do just that with the Tahoe Joe franchise. From the first person scares, riveting action and an emotional core, Tahoe Joe 3 will have you smiling from ear to ear or sobbing at the end. Is this the absolute best of the trilogy? I’ll let you decide. But I am thoroughly impressed with what we got. Full of laughs, action and its fair share of horror and gore, Tahoe Joe 3 is a wild ride. But every ride has to end. Even though the Tahoe Joe journey is over, don’t cry. Smile because it happened. And in this case, stick to the very end for a special surprise. All-in-all, it’s been a good year for horror fans and an even better year for fans of Horror Dadz Productions.
Now Streaming On:
