The Girl in the Woods

Not sure what's up with some of the way overly harsh reviews. This is a fun show. If you're looking for some lighthearted entertainment but like some genre and a dash of scares with it, I recommend this show. I particularly loved the main trio. It's not super scary, but that wasn't a negative to me. It was a breeze to watch, which I appreciated. Takes a couple of episodes to find it's groove but once it finds it you'll realize you're really sucked in and care deeply for the characters. There's a couple moments I was surprised really struck me right in the feels. The finale was also a standout. Don't listen to some of these reviews. At 25-30 mins an ep, stick with it. You won't be disappointed.

I was expecting it to be very basic and boring, but it was actually engaging. It wasn't really a horror show as much as a teen drama with horror elements. As a teen drama it was above average, the characters were realistic and there problems too. If you are looking for something scary this show is not for you, but if you want an teen drama that doesn't make you brain dead while watching it, it's pretty good.

I suggest you watch the excellent horror/comedy movie The Cabin in the Woods and then decide for yourself whether or not this series rips off the premise.

The episodes are a bit uneven, and involve mainly around teens. There is a colony behind the door, and Carrie escapes from it. The colony is really based on beatings and pain, and very brutal punishment, leaving scars. It is necessary, to create a guardian from one of them, where pain = sacrifice and sacrifice = love. They are the guardians of the door from Gehenna to the outer world. Gehenna is populated by terrible beasts, which, if let loose on the world, could destroy much. And Carrie becomes one of the stronger persons meant to protect that doorway. A tear develops in the boundary between Gehenna and the outer world, and if it is not repaired, the results would be terrible. Already, some of the beasts have escaped, and they are often invisible, but deadly. The outer world is set in a small town, where the closing of a nickel mine threatens the economic survival of the town, yet some want the mine closed due to the toxic byproducts of the mining. This sets up some of the tension between the town characters. The target audience is most likely teens who would not be real critical.

This is a supernatural teen show but with an atypical and rather interesting plot. The main character, Carrie, grew up in an isolated cult deep in the woods that dedicates itself to keeping nightmarish monsters locked away behind a mystical door, all to nobody in the outside world's knowledge. She eventually leaves the cult for reasons unknown and the story goes from there.

The writing is far from stellar. It's obviously not going for any awards, but the show is entertaining enough to keep you watching. Not everyone will like it though, and that's fine. The episodes are short so it's not a time-sink. Watch the first episode and decide from there.

If you're wondering why a few people are calling the show "woke," it's because the main girl is gay, and the female co-star is black, with the male-costar being non-binary. That's enough to have some people hate the show. Skip it if that bothers you.