Years ago, I went to the local VHS rental store specifically to find a good monster movie. I grabbed this off the rack because it had a cool cover - knowing nothing other than what I read on the box. Never heard of Lance Henriksen, and had not a clue who Stan Winston was. A couple of hours later this movie went damn near to the top of my 'finest-movies-ever-made' list. It has it all, a great story, based on old hillbilly folklore, it's got atmosphere, swamps, revenge, a witch, and one of the coolest, mischievous creatures ever conjured up. For a killer, it's intelligent, with a subtle heart, and a wry sense of humor. There's some blood, but it's needed to tell the story, it's not gushed up to quench the masses. Splatterfest? Definitely not. Good ol' fashioned story-telling with a touch of class? Right on the money.