The Fake Life - Love movies? We do too!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

DVD Review: The Woods

United Artists Presents a film by Lucky McKee
Starring Agnes Bruckner Rachel Nichols Lauren Birkell
with Bruce Campbell and Patricia Clarkson
Music by John Frizzell Cinematography by John R. Lionetti
Edited by Dan Lebental Produced by Bryan Furst and Sean Furst
Written by David Ross Directed by Lucky McKee
In filmmaking, the sophomore effort is often the hardest one to pull off. You've already gained a lot of kudos for your debut flick, and people are eagle-eyed with baited breath waiting to see what you can do with your follow-up, especially within the horror genre, where talent can be so easily turned into a trash-making machine for the promise of a few dollars. I'm not sure how much Lucky McKee's first movie, May, fits into that, as it was only really seen by about four people. But amongst the horror community, it was highly-praised as a very sweet, very creepy little flick with a fun and original concept on some old themes. But what of The Woods?

Heather Fasulo (Agnes Bruckner) is a "problem child." She has no issues with John Ritter or Jack Warden, and is not penpals with Michael Richards, particularly after his recent "adventures," but she's been sent by her parents (Emma and Bruce Campbell - yes, that Bruce Campbell) to a circa 1960s boarding school after trying to set the family home alight. She doesn't really fit in, with her only friend being the usual school mouse (Lauren Birkell), and she has confrontations with the school bully (Rachel Nichols), although those pale to the ones with the school teachers. However, the strange understated principal, the greatly-named Miss Traverse (Patricia Clarkson, who is a fox for her age), sees something special in Heather, and wants to develop it further, amidst a creepy wood that the school borders on, and various rumours and hearsay about witches.

I know what you're thinking. This sounds like Suspiria. McKee demonstrated in May through Jeremy Sisto's character that he is a huge fan of Mister Argento, and it's probably no coincidence that The Woods holds some similarities to his gory epic, but being honest, it's probably unfair to compare, mainly because Suspiria is so different - although let's face it, is any movie like Suspiria? - and also because Suspiria is a really good movie.

I find it hard to pin down just exactly what perturbs me about The Woods. It has some very good cinematography, the acting is fine across the board, especially with young - and very hot - Ms. Bruckner, but I just couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it. Tonally, the film seems very lopsided, with a lot of 'Is it happening-is it a dream-is she insane?' moments in the school, trying to ask us whether or not Heather is experiencing weird things or whether she's generally just a nutcase. But the things that happen, while occasionally creepy, aren't really anything to write home about, and the generic eerie atmosphere tries to drum into you ends up not being creepy at all.

It's a shame I have to use a word like generic when it comes to McKee, because I truly loved May, but The Woods just doesn't really generate any kind of excitement or, well, any emotion really. I'm almost apathetic about it, the sort of shrugging shoulder feeling when someone asks if you liked a film. But it's this apathy that leads to the disappointment I feel about the movie. It doesn't help that the whole premise behind the boarding school and the teachers is given away pretty early in the movie, using the whole 'Here's a legend about this place...' which kills the story because it completely undermines the whole mystery of the piece. We're supposed to join with Heather as she tries to uncover the whole secret behind the school, but it's such an easy conclusion (especially since it's a horror film, and we're all too familiar with the genre's themes and conventions) that it makes the rest of the film really moot, mainly because nothing really interesting happens that makes it worthwhile to see her uncover the mystery.

But when something does happen at the end, it's almost like we've leaped into a different film, one that suddenly seems like the closest thing we'll ever get to a fourth Evil Dead movie, and it seems like a copout. I don't want to spoil too much, but I'll just say it ends up with Bruce Campbell coming to the rescue with an axe against a bunch of monster trees. Yes folks, if you're looking to watch an aging B-movie actor fighting Treebeard's cousins with very little enthusiasm, you've come to the right place. It seems so out of place thematically, that this mildly entertaining and fascinating (I emphasize mildly) psychological drama has suddenly turned into Bruce Campbell vs. The Woods. It almost seems like McKee has thought "Well, the fans love Bruce, and I bet they'd love to see him back to his Ash days, so why not?" and cast him in the film purely on that basis.

It's a shame, because with some work on the script - a tip for budding screenwriters: actually having things happen in the movie is a good thing - and a bit more oomph, maybe even some more inspiration from Suspiria, The Woods could have been a really good take on the whole witchcraft deal. Unfortunately, it fails to satisfy even the lowest of horror standards, and is left to languish in DTV hell, where sadly, it probably belongs.

In terms of the actual disc, the 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is very good. One of McKee's talents is his eye, and the film is well shot, and this transfer shows it off well. The usual 5.1 Dolby does its thing with no problems, and has a good sound balance, although the use of 50s/60s teen angst songs comes out a bit loud, as well as being quite annoying and overplayed. However, while the image and sound are very good, when it comes to extras, there are none to speak of.

I remember being a bit pissy when I first heard The Woods was going DTV. I thought that films by a director such as McKee should be at least given a chance at the theaters, especially since May was sent straight to video. Now, I'm not sure it deserved to be in theaters. I'm probably being a bit harsh, as it's still better than a lot of shit that actually gets in theaters (just look at the trailers for The Reaping), but it's just such a big disappointment. Hopefully some of the qualities McKee showed in May will come out in his next film. I'd like to think so.

5 killer trees out of 10