The Girl in the Woods

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.

I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't expecting much going in but I found myself binging the season in one night. Considering each episode is under 30 minutes and there's only 8 episodes, I think it balanced the plot well with fleshing out the characters and world-building.

I've seen some criticism about the 'gender-identity' subplot, but I think it was well done without dragging the main plot too much. It allowed us to understand one of the other characters while giving us insight about the world Carrie comes from too. While the other character struggles with how to explain to others about what it means to be non-binary, Carrie struggles with how she sometimes doesn't feel like a person at all...more like a tool or a weapon. It's a pretty good way to parallel their experience in a way that allows them to get a better understanding of the other.

I look forward to seeing how they continue to flesh out the characters and further the plot in the future. This show has a lot of potential and I don't think it's being given enough credit. Honestly, aside from teenagers and a place that holds "nightmares", this show has nothing in common with 'Stranger Things'. It's an unfair comparison because they have almost nothing in common and this show isn't even trying to be another 'Stranger Things'.

I hope this show gets picked up for another season, hopefully with longer episodes (or more episodes). I look forward to seeing where the show takes us in the future.

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 premise of the show has potential, but the characters are cliché to the point of absurdity. They hardly need dialogue because it's blatantly obvious what each character is going to say in every scene.