The Woods (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Lucky McKee

Writer (WGA):

David Ross (written by)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Every high school has its secrets...

Plot:

Set in 1965 New England, a troubled girl encounters mysterious happenings in the woods surrounding an isolated girls school that she was sent to by her estranged parents.

Plot Keywords:

Woods | Nightmare | Boarding School | Coven | Fire

Cast

Agnes Bruckner	...	Heather Fasulo
Emma Campbell	...	Alice Fasulo
Bruce Campbell	...	Joe Fasulo
Patricia Clarkson	...	Ms. Traverse
Lauren Birkell	...	Marcy Turner
Jane Gilchrist	...	Ms. Cross
Catherine Colvey	...	Ms. Leland
Marcia Bennett	...	Ms. Mackinaw
Rachel Nichols	...	Samantha Wise
Kathleen Mackey	...	Ann Whales
Cary Lawrence	...	Ms. Charevoix
Colleen Williams	...	Ms. Arbor
Gordon Currie	...	The Sheriff
Jude Beny	...	School Nurse
Melissa Altro	...	Barb (as Missy Altro)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and language, including sexual references.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:16 | Australia:MA (2006) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cité du Cinéma, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Cinegreen

Trivia:

This film, which sat on the shelf for nearly three years, caused M. Night Shyamalan to have to change the name of his 2004 film from "The Woods" to The Village (2004).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Samantha and Heather are in the woods, Samantha attempts to tell Heather about the school. During the first screen shot directed at Heather, Samantha can be heard speaking but her jaw is not moving.

Quotes:

Ms. Traverse: [Ms. Mackinaw brings Heather into the office] What is this?
Ms. Mackinaw: Miss Fasulo attacked Miss Wise in the dining hall.
[Her head twitches]
Ms. Traverse: Is that so?
Heather: I didn't...
[she twitches intentionally]
Heather: ... attack anyone. I was just trying to defend myself.
[Ms. Mackinaw looks embarrassed and upset that Heather made fun of her twitch]
Heather: I'm sorry. I didn't meant to...
[Ms. Mackinaw twitches again and leaves angrily]
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Suspiria (1977)

Soundtrack:

He Said Goodbye

It might have been a long time coming, but the wait was worth it!

In 2002, director Lucky McKee made a big impression with his first full feature film, the oddball horror 'May'. Since then, he went on to direct the best episode of the Masters of Horror series, and this film...which has unfortunately remained in limbo for far too long. It's not difficult to see why the film struggled to get a release, as McKee's film isn't exactly your average slice of horror. It's clear that the director has a thing for deviant young women, and that theme is carried through with this film; along with a whole load of influence, which ranges from Video Nasty classic 'The Evil Dead', to Dario Argento's masterpiece 'Suspiria'. The film takes place in 1965, and focuses on central character Heather Fasulo - a girl sent to a an all-girl boarding school by her parents after she decided to burn down their house. The school is surrounded by thick woodland, and the girls there tell stories about it which revolve round a coven of witches that decided to take the school by force many years earlier. Furthermore, this story seems to have some truth as Heather suffers nightmares which focus on the surrounding woods…

The film is really slow paced for the first hour, and despite some mysterious goings on at first; there isn't a lot of horror involved. But that's not to say that the film is boring! McKee utilises this time well and uses it to create mystery around his central theme and build the characters up to a point that we can easily care for them. The atmosphere is continually creepy, and this bodes well with the mystery theme and the dark and gloomy woodland. While The Woods doesn't feature much in the way of blood and gore, McKee skilfully manages to work some schlock sequences into the film, and the frenzied final third brilliantly offsets the slow build of the first two. The director has managed to put together a good line-up of acting talent for the film, which sees Agnes Bruckner doing well in the lead role, and receiving good feedback from experienced actors, including a devilish Patricia Clarkson, and cult icon Bruce Campbell; whom I'd like to have seen more of. It all boils down to a satisfying, yet open, climax and overall; despite its problems getting a release - this is a damn good horror film and will surely rank as one of the best of 2006! Here's to hoping McKee has an easier time getting a release for his next film.