So, on Saturday, my movie-watching friend and I embarked on a monumental task—five horror films in one day. It was spectacular. Our selections ranged from singing horror (SWEENEY TODD) to Elvira horror (MANEATER OF HYDRA and THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED) to horror for review (SEA BEAST and BACKWOODS). Of the five, our consensus opinion was that BACKWOODS was probably our least favorite, but, that being said, it’s still pretty good.
We start off with a group of twentysomethings on a corporate paintball retreat in the woods. Teams are formed, inter-office relationships are frowned upon—and then things go a little bad. Seems there’s a cult of sorts living in these here backwoods, and they don’t take kindly to folks trespassing on their land—especially when you’re wearing an FBI hat like a big pretentious dummy. They’ll take the women, though—they’re good for the breedin’—and then they’ll do away with the boys so that the Chosen One can spread his seed and make his mama (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) proud. Lee (Haylie Duff) has other ideas, and since she ain’t gonna be no big oaf’s handmaid, she and her surviving co-workers revolt against the cult-y status quo and try to make their way to freedom.
When I saw Lizzie McGuire’s less famous sister peering out at me from the DVD cover, my expectations were pretty low. And really, if you think the premise sounds a whole lot like a BUNCH of other, better, films, it does—this is obviously not the first crazy commune in the woods that snatches people from the safety of their tents. But BACKWOODS has some things going for it—mainly, leader of the pack Mother Ruth is downright creepy, and it’s a trip to see Van Valkenburgh again (she’s been in all kinds of things, but she was Mercy in THE WARRIORS. THE WARRIORS, man!!). Also, even with the Duff factor, the acting is okay for a woodsy survival flick, and there are some unsettling … if not exactly frightening … moments with Josiah (Robert ‘Bonecrusher’ Mukes) and the whole “tied to the bed coupling” stuff. This definitely felt like a TV movie, maybe something that would pop up on Chiller on a lazy Saturday afternoon, but that’s not always a bad thing. Much like with SEA BEAST, you know what you’re getting going in, and when it turns out to be better than you’d thought, it’s a pleasant surprise.
Overall, nothing new here, not a lot of blood and gore (this is more of an “action violence” kind of film), and really nothing especially memorable except for Van Valkenburgh and Mukes, but it does a solid job for what it is, and I’m beginning to consider forgiving genius entertainment/RHI entertainment for INFECTED.
– Amber Goddard
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
