A Night in the Woods

It all started with Blair Witch in '99. Since then, 'found footage' and 'handicam'-style films have become all the rage. There was the less-remembered 'Last Broadcast' which actually preceded Blair Witch but did not capture the imagination in the same way the viral marketing method pioneered by Haxan Films managed to. And since those early days, well-received efforts such as Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity have upped the budget but endeavoured to keep themselves to the same principles.

So, with these films now extremely common, it takes something a bit special to stand out. Sadly, nothing about 'A Night in the Woods' is special, and it blows several good chances to be a great film, instead ending up a bit of a mess of a production which could have been so much more.

The story sees 3 'friends' decide to go camping out in Dartmoor - the complete lack of explanation as to why they are going there is one mild flaw. A 'sinister' (contrived) element of risk is thrown in with a visit to an Irish pub and tales of horror from the area the intrepid 3 are aiming for. And after a very long and dragged-out first portion of the movie we finally end up on location for a night in the woods.

This film tries insanely hard to be Blair Witch, in Britain. Just like the earlier masterpiece it's 3 friends isolated in the woods with inexplicable evil apparently descending upon them. And to its credit it does manage to create a semblance of tension approaching the crescendo of the story.

But unfortunately the makers decided to throw in a whole bunch of bizarre red herrings which made no sense. They included revelatory back story but unfortunately none of it was remotely developed nor did it make any sense in context of the environment - it did not appear to affect anything.

They also included a few moments which were from the eyes of certain characters. The whole point of these films is you only ever see from the view of the camera they are holding. As soon as you get an eye-view from a character who has no camera, it doesn't work.

It was, as mentioned, also let horribly down by the unnecessarily long intro - the story took far too long to get going and created the criminal error of making every character dislikeable in the process.

That all said it is not the worst cam film I have ever seen, but it was poorly-conceived and lacked sense and cohesion. Its forced and contrived nature let it down horribly, even if the acting was actually half decent.

Seen much better.

One of the worst films I've ever seen. The camera-work was crass and amateurish, the plot non-existent, the characters unbelievable and totally unsympathetic. The scenario presented was ridiculous. There was even a ludicrous scene in a Dartmoor pub where local yokel Mummerset stereotypes told of ancient myths about horsemen and sang folk music as if this is what Devon folk do in the boozer all the time. In your average Dartmoor pub (I live nearby) you'd get Jennifer Saunders or some tourists. The director seemed to believe that black-and-white shots of ancient trees were in themselves menacing, along with the occasional hoot of an owl or cry of foxes. There was no attempt to create a sense of paganism or witchcraft, or anything else to contextualise the fears aroused during the camping trip.

This film was a bad steal from Blair Witch, transposed to an ancient copse on a Dartmoor tor, but with no suspense, no thrills, nothing remotely scary except that anyone had seen fit to distribute this nightmare of filmmaking. It was repetitive beyond belief - just the same old camera shots seen over and over again, and people stumbling around among some rocks - and I kept glancing at my watch wondering how soon it would end.

Fortunately I hadn't paid good money to see it in the cinema, but I resented using up one of my monthly rental DVDs after reading a favourable review in a respected British newspaper and imagining the film would be a bit of spooky fun.

I recommend that no one should waste time or money viewing this film. It's an embarrassment, and I felt humiliated at having watched it!

The last 30 minutes of the movie is the exciting bit. The first 40 minutes is dull, dull, dull.

I was attracted to watch this because of the cover. i know, i know... I didn't learn from my past lessons, see.

Thank god, I didin't actually waste my time because I was doing something else while watching. I didn't miss much. I didn't need to rewind.

That's because nothing really happened. It's just Kerry and Leo hobby-horsing around while hiking.

Then they built their tent, and the two guys went missing.

If you still want to see this, do something else while doing it.

If you enjoy over an hour of three people walking around and bickering, then this film is for you!

Another offspring, another "Found Footage" Film. But should you judge a movie, just because it tries to ride a wave (you'd be missing out on some good movies, if you have prejudices). On the other hand, this movie does not have what it takes to really be considered a good entry into the "sub-genre".

It's not so much about the actors (given the roles they get), more about the script and the execution of it. I can't say that I think you'd be surprised. In any way that is. But even if that's not what you are looking for, with logic out the window what does remain, that makes this movie at least a bit worth-while? Only saving grace might be the sound design, which is quite nice.