L'antre du mal

The movie was boring at the beginning and got interesting the last half hour more or less. Some shots were very clever. I really liked them. If you expect to see a lot of Daryl Hannah, don't. Her role is actually pretty small. As for the other actors in this film most of them are really bad. At the end the story becomes a little more complicated and it leaves you with some questions about the plot but I am sure you won't stay awake at night thinking about them. Don't expect a lot from this film because if you do you will be disappointed. If you see it for what it is (a b-movie with some interesting twists in the story) you won't be that annoyed by it.

While traveling from California to Bangor through a lonely road, Carrie Mitchel (Daryl Hannah) is advised by the gas station attendant Jimmy (Twan Holliday) to rest in a hotel; however, she decides to continue driving through the night. Later she almost hits the teenager Amy Singer (Leah Gibson) that is wandering on the road wounded with blood on her face. She gives a lift to Amy that tells that her friends from the Boston University Mike (Luke Camilleri), Greg (Jeb Beach), Tammy (Maria Gruending) and Lisa (Lee Tomaschefski) and she had traveled in a RV to Arrowhead to research the area as part of a discipline in their course. When they stopped in a gas station, the attendant Billy (Daniel Probert) advised them to avoid the place in Bradford City called "Devil's Playground" by the locals. While digging in an area where a mine collapsed on 19 December 1967 killing 239 coal miners, they find preserved bones that they believe belonged to the Indians. However, when they find teeth with golf fillings and a watch on the wrist of an arm, they realize that the deaths have recently occurred and they are in a dangerous location.

"The Cycle" is another forgettable rip-off of an overworked genre that was successfully explored in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", "The Hills Have Eyes", "Wrong Turn" and other sub-products of the slash. The plot point is silly and flawed, and abuses of the clichés. Daryl Hannah's character has minor participation along the story and surprisingly there are viewers that wrote good reviews of this flick. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Terra Maldita" ("Damned Land")

A woman from California traveling through the back roads of Pennsylvania (Daryl Hannah) picks up a traumatized female, who was part of a student archeological team from Boston. The youths were interested in the local Indian burial grounds whereupon they discover some of the remains are quite recent. What's going on?

Released in 2009, "The Devil's Ground", aka "The Cycle," is a backwoods slasher in the "Wrong Turn" mold with some nods to the "Friday the 13th" flicks, i.e. A hulking masked assailant in the woods with a machete.

Without giving away vital revelations in the last act, the story comes down to a toxic waste, bitter yokels and some mysterious crows. The Indian burial ground functions simply to attract the out-of-state college students and isn't related to the other stuff, unless you view the grounds as sacred land that curses anyone who desecrates it. Let's be generous to writer/director Micheal Bafaro and go with that.

The striking Lee Tomaschefski stands out on the female front as Lisa, although she doesn't do much for me personally. Meanwhile Maria Gruending is worth a mention as Tammy and I like protagonist Leah Gibson's doe-eyed look.

The filmmaking is professional so this is worth checking out for those who appreciate backwaters horror, particularly of the slasher variety. Despite some eye-rolling script flaws, like the map contrivance and the youths constantly referring to the killer as "the monster," I'd watch this over "Wrong Turn." But it's not as entertaining as any of the "Friday the 13th" movies. For a similar Canadian flick that's more effective, see "Butchers" (2020).

The flick runs 1 hour, 28 minutes. It's a Canadian/Czech production, but I can't find specific info on filming locations; the credits list the British Columbia Film Commission, so I'm assuming that's where it was shot (thankfully they don't show the Cascades or Rockies in the background since the story is set in northwestern Pennsylvania).

GRADE: C+

By no means groundbreaking, however The Cycle still manages to be a somewhat tense and rather entertaining film. The story is interesting and changes up enough to remain fresh all the way through. The acting was on the mark (even the over-actors you can't help but like) and the action did well to keep you on edge. The death scenes would have benefited from a little more attention as they are a bit on the tame side and over too quickly. Overall I don't see the film as being something that will stick with you long after viewing however it does provide for an entertaining viewing. I would recommend giving it a chance.

Typical horror crap with an idiotic ending. Could have at least had an evil hick with a brain. I've seen ratings above 7 that complain about other imdb reviewers. Hey, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Don't hate because they don't agree with you. Did you have something to do with the production of this film? If so then sure you'll love it. I found it trivial and predictable. And I'm sure many will disagree. But...hey, that is my opinion.