Panic Fest 2026 Coverage
Pitfall review
A serial killer and a giant pit remind you to stay out of the woods.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Pitfall
Directed by James Kondelik
Written by Victor Rose
Starring Marshall Williams, Alex Essoe, Jordan Claire Robbins, Richard Harmon, Brenda Llewellyn and Matt Hamilton
Pitfall Review
Pitfall is not an adaptation of the famous video game of the same name. At least…you won’t see anyone swinging over giant pits or jumping on crocodile heads in this movie. There is a pit to avoid, however. And a killer patrolling the woods around it. Come to think of it…that would have made a fine addition to the video game.
Scott (Marshall Williams) is the unfortunate fellow who finds his way into the pit. His leg is impaled on a spike leaving any escape looking impossible. He fell into the pit while fleeing…something in the woods. Initially he runs from wolves. Inevitably it’s to escape whatever is he hears killing them.
Scott didn’t come to the woods alone…so there is some hope of rescue. He took the trip with friends…and his estranged sister Ashley (Alex Essoe). Flashbacks throughout the story let us know why they’ve grown apart. It involves their parents’ death in a car accident five years earlier…and the guilt that Scott carries around with him as a result. The group searches for Scott but are impeded by a few issues. Scott has the map. And the car keys. And the killer watching their every move.
Combining a survival horror story with a serial killer story works very well in Pitfall. Throwing in some family drama works too…even if it can get a bit melodramatic at times. Essentially, Pitfall is another “don’t go in the woods” type of movie. This time, however, there are multiple threats for the characters to contend with. Personal trauma, the spike filled pit…and that pesky murderer. While the group is attempting to find their missing member…Pitfall occasionally cuts to what at first seem to be flashbacks filling us in on the story of the person patrolling them. It turns out…these might not be flashbacks after all. A merging of the two storylines kicks the movie into another gear. A fiery and fatal encounter gives it a point of no return.
Pitfall’s combination of survival horror and slasher-like aspects set an effective and consistently thrilling tone. The cast is great too. Alex Essoe has made a career out of nailing genre roles. Richard Harmon, who stole every scene in Final Destination: Bloodlines, is on hand to lend some early lightheartedness to what quickly becomes a deadly serious game. The entire ensemble does a great job reacting to their increasingly dangerous situation. Marshall Williams spends a large amount of time trapped in his personal Hell. It’s not easy to play the lead of a movie while incapacitated for such a long period…but Williams pulls it off.
Director James Kondelik heads into the woods with a couple of solid ideas and fuses them together extremely well. Pitfall looks great, keeps a nice pace, and features effectively brutal moments of violence. With a game cast and an increasingly desperate situation…Pitfall captures the feel of what it wants to be very well. Sure, the board full of missing persons posters the group comes across at the beginning of their doomed adventure should have warned them against taking the trip in the first place…but you can proceed ahead with no such reservations. Pitfall feels fresh and exciting while providing some quality suspense and dread. The backstory of the estranged siblings might get a little over the top by the end…but the actors manage to keep it from derailing what turns out to be a satisfying, if costly, camping trip.
Scare Value
Pitfall is a fun time in the woods for the people watching…not for the people in them. With so many independent horror movies focused on one threat in those woods…combining multiple things into one cohesive and well-paced narrative makes Pitfall feel unique. Part survival horror, part slasher movie…Pitfall takes the best parts of both and weaves them into an entertaining tapestry. A strong cast and quality production values make your stay in these woods worthwhile.
