A Night in the Woods

If you enjoy over an hour of three people walking around and bickering, then this film is for you!

Another offspring, another "Found Footage" Film. But should you judge a movie, just because it tries to ride a wave (you'd be missing out on some good movies, if you have prejudices). On the other hand, this movie does not have what it takes to really be considered a good entry into the "sub-genre".

It's not so much about the actors (given the roles they get), more about the script and the execution of it. I can't say that I think you'd be surprised. In any way that is. But even if that's not what you are looking for, with logic out the window what does remain, that makes this movie at least a bit worth-while? Only saving grace might be the sound design, which is quite nice.

Lets start off with the PROS PROS: Many pop out scares (especially if watching on a high volume..), the few black and white night vision parts are excellent in making trees look like people (several times I thought I saw someone hanging from a tree, which is what the Hunter does in this movie) CONS: Too much inactivity, not enough stimulating dialogue, TOO MANY IDIOTIC DECISIONS (even for someone who is scared out of their mind.. One small example is having a flashlight and not pointing it in the direction of sound!) HOWEVER... this movie was pretty nice and really good at making your eyes deceive you, and then scaring you with distorted sound, blurred camera vision and pop out scares.. I honestly recommend watching at high volume... but not too high, and at nighttime. I viewed it during the day at high volume and it got me pretty good in the last 40 minutes of the film...

FINALLY: One last thing I should mention is that this movie does tdo a very good job at making you hate the characters, then like them, then hate them again.. so its well worth one watch.

Definitely influenced by The Blair Witch Project, this standard "terror in the woods at night" flick starts with a young couple embarking on a camping trip with the woman's cousin in tow. Things and people turn out not to be quite what they seem, however, and as night grows near scary things start to happen.

I found this one to have an interesting premise with some mildly interesting characters.The lead up to the actual horror part showed lots of promise, but never really delivered. There were a few interesting twists and turns present as well as a couple of effective jump scares but there was little to no payoff. 5/10.

It's amazing that this film was ever made. Not because it's particularly bad, but simply because I can't imagine the sales pitch that financed it. It must have gone along the lines of: 'A Night in the Woods is a film that's shot entirely from the point of view of a single camera operator and is about three friends who go hiking in the woods, only to get picked off by an evil witch.'

Surely the studio executive listening to that pitch would have said, 'Yeah, but... isn't that the Blair Witch Project?' And they'd be right. Only this one is made in England. Otherwise it's pretty similar. As I say, it's not as bad as it could be. The three characters are pretty amusing and there's a fair bit of UK vs US banter between the English girl and her American boyfriend, plus they're pretty realistic in the way they all interact. Then there's the scenery. The film is a decent advert for the English countryside, showing some really scenic shots of Dartmoor. These become increasingly creepy as the night vision techniques are used.

However, from a promising start, we're soon treated to a pub-load of country bumpkins that happen to tell them sinister tales, foretelling what's to come (ala every other film of this type). Then, after a long build up with nothing vaguely supernatural happening, odd things start to occur (and one of the three vanishes mysteriously, again, just like Blair Witch).

I thought that perhaps it shouldn't have been filmed from the first-person and the film-makers should have stuck with a more simple approach. At least that way it would be a little less like Blair Witch. Plus, and I hope people won't think that this is too much like a spoiler, but the very first shot of the film is text explaining that these three people were never seen again and this footage has been edited together to 'explain' it. I found that this kind of removed the tension as to who might or might not survive. If you know all three are never going to be seen again, it does kind of take away some of the mystique.

If Blair Witch was never made, this might have been thought of more highly. As it is, A Night in the Woods is sadly little more than a poor copy of a better film. It's not bad, but it's hardly worth seeking out, unless you're really into these 'first person' films.