The name of this film is very appropriate. It follows the classic horror movie formula to a T. A group of friends head out to the "woods," get stranded, and encounter a killer, having to fight their way out to survive. Yes you've seen this story a hundred times. Having said that, the question is then does this entry into the genre add something valuable. It is at least a very well made version of this typical story? Does it reinvent something, making us see things a new way? I'm not sure it does the latter but it is the former.
The film is self-conscious about its relationship to the genre and the movies that have come before. Characters reference having seen films with certain characteristics, speak of how we as a culture often enjoy violence "like in a bad movie." Based on this I kept thinking the film was going somewhere with that but as it played on it kept pretty strictly to the formula. While it did this effectively, I'm not sure it managed to do anything else.
It's beautifully shot but it's The Wicker Man or Midsommer all over again. There are even elements of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre here. But never does it transcend those precedents or offer anything new. And the film does revel in its gore and violence a bit more that I would have appreciated. It throws at us some comments early on about how that's problematic but then doesn't ever address it. There is a cruelty to this film that is never quite dealt with or addressed sufficiently.
Fans of the genre may enjoy it but it certainly won't win over any converts who aren't already horror fans.
A Classic Horror Story
Starring: Matilda Lutz, Will Merrick, Peppino Mazzotto, Francesco Russo
Directors: Roberto de Feo, Paolo Stippoli
Writers: Lucio Besana, David Bellini, Milo Tissone, Roberto de Feo, Paolo Stippoli
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