Witches in the Woods

We live in a time where their are so many low budget horror movies I've trusted the reviews of IMDB in attempt to sort through the weeds. This however caught my eye off trailer alone so despite its low rating I watched it anyways as I'm glad I did!

Nothing about this movie screams low budget, there isnt a time in the movie you're not anticipating what's coming next, several things happen that leave you wondering how they will develop. No it's not amazing, it's not a blockbuster film, it's just very entertaining from beginning to end!

I found this movie miles above horror flicks that recieve twice the attention and get screen time at your local theaters. Again not award winning just an entertaining film in a time where plenty of lousy horror films exist.

A bunch of young people are lost in the snowy forest. The increasing cold and psychological tensions (they are not exactly best friends) take their toll, and then there are legends of witches in that area. The forest is said to make you possessed. The photography is great, so many shots inside the car, even moving within that confined space, and the viewing angles never feel repetitive.

Despite the title, the movie never clearly shows anything supernatural going on, whether possession or just psychological issues are to blame for the murders is not explained, and I like that something is left open for the audience to make their own impression. Unfortunately, there are no sympathetic characters you'd care about, therefore the danger they get into isn't making you sit on the edge of your seat. OK to watch, I voted 5 of 10, but it didn't fulfil my expectations entirely.

You know in horror movies when characters mostly do that one thing they shouldn't be doing? Depending on the actors, the story and other circumstances you may be able to forgive these things ... I'd argue it is near impossible to really forgive anyone involved here.

Especially the inciting incident ... roads taken and all that. You do wonder why anyone would trust someone as obviously out of touch and clueless as the one our "group" believes in here. There is an underlying and depending on your view very well or poorly handled backstory involving one of the girls. She is also the center of many more scenes of "come on" - "are you seriously going to do that?" ... again, suspend your disblief ... because if you don't ... well it is going to be a "painful" watch. It is shot in a very good way though and you can see some merit(s) in it.

Some young american's get stranded in the wilderness where according to legend witches lived.

So, Jill's best friend, Alison, has been the victim of some unspecified sexual assault.

Jill is like, "Hey, Alison, to get your mind off things do you fancy coming on a road trip? You will be stuck in a car for hours on-end with my overly aggressive boyfriend and his dumb mates. Well at least you know them, as two of them are implicated in your sexual assault. One of them is bringing along their new girlfriend. We haven't met her yet but she is definitely a massive bitch. Oh yeah and I am cheating on my boyfriend with one of his friends, also on the trip, but don't worry he was the one least likely to have molested you." Alison is like, "That doesn't sound like it will be awkward at all. Count me in!"

Bitch-face has just enough time to read out a pamphlet about witches in the area before they get stuck in the snow and immediately start fighting.

Not a lot happens in this film; most of the action is in the car. Not a problem as this worked with the likes of "Dead End" and "Wind Chill" Not here though.

These setups rely on you actually caring about the people in the car. Here you just can't. If this bunch of moody, opinionated, arrogant, narcissists had made it to their destination it still would have been a horror movie.

The acting, production and camera work are all very good. A fair amount of tension is built up and what little story there is twists enough to keep it interesting. The dialogue is also pretty well written and a few times it feels like sanity could prevail. But it is always evident that old alpha-male Derek can't keep his poo together for more than twenty five seconds at a time and everyone else seems intent on pushing his buttons.

A nice try with some nice ideas but it is hard to shake the feeling that everyone got what they had coming to them - even if their crime was just being really bland.

None of the characters were likable. The acting was fine, it was well filmed, story was so-so.

Overall an average rating. It could've been a very good film, had the characters been worth rooting for.