Beyond the Woods was apparently crowd funded so we know it is a micro budgeted effort. Even so, director, writer and, producer, Seán Breathnach, has cobbled together an eminently watchable film full of believable characters.
It is another entry in the group of friends in a cabin the woods genre though the Irish setting and cast give it a distinctive twist. Oh, and there is the ever-present sulphuric stench from a nearby sinkhole, the pungency of which the cast do well in conveying to the viewer.
We are 25 minutes into the movie before anything actually happens. Cinematographer, Paraic English, is up to the job though and the viewer remains engaged. In fact the cinematography is a definite strength of the film. My one small quibble is most evident during this early period. The audio is muffled at times.
Jump cut shots, now you see me, now you don't, are used sparingly but to good effect and mark the gear change from a sort of Big Chill feel into horror.
Whilst mentioning horror, the film is strong technically and in terms of cast but not so much in terms of actual horror. It's too talky to be terribly scary. And the horror tropes are perhaps the main victims of a very tight budget. Whilst acknowledging all of this, Beyond the Woods is not without its occasional but moderate moment or two.
Marissa, Ruth Hayes, creates an unnerving moment when she attempts to escape the holiday house but all roads see her returning to it. Perhaps if Breathnach had done more of this and abandoned the monster, etc and opted for frights created by using subtly and filmic techniques à la Cat People it would have been scarier and avoided the budget constraints.
All in all, Beyond the Woods deserves an audience and those involved with it bear watching in the future.
