The Woods

In 1965, after provoking a fire in a forest, the rebel teenager Heather Fasulo (Agnes Bruckner) is sent to the boarding school Falburn Academy in the middle of the woods by her estranged mother Alice Fasulo (Emma Campbell) and her neglected father Joe Fasulo (Bruce Campbell). The dean Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson) accepts Heather in spite of the bad financial condition of her father. The displaced Heather becomes close friend of he weird Marcy Turner (Lauren Birkell), while they are maltreated by the abusive mate Samantha Wise (Rachel Nichols). During the nights, Heather has nightmares and listens to voices from the woods, and along the days she believes that the school is a coven of witches. When some students, including Marcy, simply vanish, Heather believes she will be the next one.

"The Woods" is an interesting low paced horror movie directed by Lucky McKee, the director of the cult-movie "May". Using a creepy atmosphere to develop the characters and the supernatural mysteries surrounding the boarding school and their teachers, the story reaches its climax in the very end, when the secret of the Falburn Academy is finally disclosed. The underrated actress Patricia Clarkson is scary in the role of the evil dean of the school; the cult Bruce Campbell has a minor but important participation; and Agnes Bruckner is also good in her role. "The Woods" is never better than "May", but it is also a good psychological horror movie. Mr. Lucky McKee, please do not wait for another four years to release your next movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Floresta" ("The Woods")

Alot of this movie to me screamed mediocre. It does keep you interested and had some good scenery shots otherwise imho this fell flat. The firecrotch thing got old fast. Seems like the girl would have done something about that sooner so to me it was roll of the eyes when she finally did it was like whatever. Ending was stupid. I would say pass. Banal. Go watch the witch instead.

To hear Director Lucky McKee tell it at a post screening interview at the 2006 Fantasia film festival, the reason his movie The Woods hasn't been released is due to "corporate bullshit", however I'd have to say it has more to do with a distinct lack of tension and chills which, in a horror movie, isn't good. If you were looking for a reason why MGM has kept this movie sitting on the shelf for the past three years, this would be it.

Don't get me wrong. The Woods is a stylish, slickly made, well acted movie. Far worse have made their big screen debut, although simply because other studios have seen fit to put lesser fare in the cineplexes, doesn't necessarily mean they should follow suit with The Woods.

The movie tells the story of Heather (Agnes Bruckner), a troubled girl with a penchant for setting fires, who is relegated to an all girl boarding school by her parents, played by Canadian actress Emma Campbell and "The Chin" Bruce Campbell of Army of Darkness fame. It's there that she slowly learns that witchcraft is afoot and that she, along with select other students have been targeted for ulterior motives by the nefarious teaching staff as a result of their unique paranormal talents.

McKee, who rose to fame with his 2002 movie May, draws heavily on Italian horror cinema influences (the film bears more than a passing similarity to Dario Argento's Suspira), The Woods devotes far more time than most films of the genre building audience identification with the central characters, which normally is a good thing, however in this case it appears to have come at the expense of the fright factor. I suppose McKee was aiming for a slow, turn-of-the-screw approach to mounting tension, culminating with the film's orgasmic release, however it didn't work for me. Instead the movie seemed to plod along in a meandering fashion, only to suddenly kick into high gear during the final 15 minutes.

It's all too bad, really, because The Woods has many strengths going for it. It's terrifically photographed, the cinematography even plays with color hues throughout the film for a stylish effect. It's well acted with copious nifty quirks, the dialog flows naturally, and the special effects are superb. If only this movie delivered more chills than it promises, it would have probably been released a year or more ago.

If you are looking for a bloody slasher flick, then look elsewhere, as this film is a spooky thriller along the lines of Dario Argento.

Agnes Bruckner, a superb young actress, plays a troubled teen whose mother puts her in a boarding school. It just so happens that she has special talents the headmistress (Patricia Clarkson - The Station Agent, The Green Mile, Pieces of April) and the other teachers are looking for.

Despite warnings from sexy Rachel Nichols, she is trapped and part of their diabolical scheme.

The suspense is tense throughout and it only gets bloody at the end. The acting is great and the tree effects are spectacular.

A young arsonist is tossed into a prestigious all girls boarding school for "gifted" children and immediately starts to realize that the teachers might be witches using the student body for their own nefarious rituals.

The Woods appears to have a decent budget and the cast is wonderful, but the script feels a few drafts away from memorable and the tone switches from serious to semi-comic a bit too often to take anything that's happening on screen seriously. It also sticks us with a lead character who comes across as too sour and surly to ever get on her side and root for her.