Don't Go inthe Woods (James Bryan - 1981)
By chance I
came stumbled upon a list ranking the 20 worst slashers ever. I realized that I
had many of them in my collection already, and made an effort to complete that
list. Acquiring Don't Go in the Woods was a part of that effort.
The film features:
Campers, woods, killings and a villain. So far so good, but what’s missing is a
plot. There is no effort to build up any suspense or drama, things just happen.
There are killings and there are made some effort to run away. That’s it. Oh,
yea: The evildoer is a caveman! No explanation for that whatsoever.
On the plus
side we really get the feeling of being in a wood. In an proper film we would have a
foreground and a background and the characters framed into a composition. Her we just dive into the vegetation and in the
long run it provides a feeling of Jungian disorientation and unease.
Watched on
the 25th Anniversary Edition from Code Red. Sharp picture, but presented
in Full Frame.
I have a soft spot for this no-nonse/nonsense film. It's minimalist cinema - a totally bare-bones slasher film. There's a good interview with director James Bryan in the NIGHTMARE USA book.
ReplyDeleteFor me the whole experience was a tad too monotonous, but I see your point. The repetitiveness and blatant lack off reason gives this an artistic dimension I didn’t catch at the initial viewing.
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