Girl In Woods [Review]

Grace’s grip on reality seems precarious at best, due to a traumatic childhood, so naturally her fiancé decides what she needs is a getaway deep, deep in the woods.  After a freak accident, poor Grace is left alone without so much as a phone signal or compass to find her way back to civilization.  As if surviving alone, lost in the wilderness isn’t enough to contend with, Grace must battle her inner demons as well if she wants to make it out alive.

Writer/director Jeremy Benson merges survival thriller with psychological thriller in a familiar horror setting.  Neither Grace nor her fiancé seem capable of handling so much as a short hike in a park, so it’s no surprise that things derail so fast. So quickly that we never even have time to get to know the pair, save for that Grace is on medication and has nightmares about witnessing her father’s suicide as a child.  Her childhood is slowly revealed via dream sequences within dream sequences as her situation grows dangerous.

From a survival thriller standpoint, the film fails.  While it establishes early on that Grace relied on her fiancé to get her through the woods and back safely, it quickly becomes frustrating to watch Grace make the most illogical of choices.  The moment the freak accident leaves Grace to fend for herself, she wastes no time to grieve and immediately wanders off further into the woods.  She uses a stream as a guide, and temporary water source, but she then abandons that in favor of less obvious landmarks. This, in turn, causes her to wind up back at the scene of the accident. Though par for the course in this type of film, Grace routinely finds herself back at the origin point again and again, no matter what she tries to alter her direction. Sometimes it seems as though she’s routinely thwarting her own attempts just to end up back where she started. Which makes sense, given the psychological aspect, but it becomes tedious to watch.

Peppered in throughout Grace’s wandering are her nightmares about her past, giving us insight as to the childhood that shaped Grace’s psyche.  It’s the nightmare sequences featuring Charisma Carpenter as Grace’s mother and Lee Perkins as Grace’s father that are the most interesting; teasing just a little bit more backstory each time until a less than impressive reveal.  Actress Juliet Reeves channels her inner Sheri Moon Zombie. As she gets more comfortable in her role, the further Grace’s mental state deteriorates–but her performance isn’t strong enough to counter balance the exposition heavy and often cheesy dialogue. Scenes that see Grace conversing with two opposite versions of herself, an overt manifestation of her conscience, feel heavy handed. When Grace isn’t talking to herself or having nightmarish flashbacks, she’s hot on the heels of a creature straight out of The Descent.  It’s bogged down by the tedium of Grace’s poor attempts at survival, however.

At its core, Girl in Woods poses an interesting concept.  It’s an origin story, of sorts, that dangles the idea of a potential gory franchise just out of reach.  Unfortunately,  there’s not enough of an arch to sell Grace’s story, which is further hindered by the film’s clumsy dialogue.  Instead of a slow psychological break, we’re left with a character that cracks almost from the opening credits, leaving the setting irrelevant and stripping the story of any sense of authentic emotional depth.  Though it’s obvious Reeves revels in her role, it’s not enough to keep Grace engaging.  The bloody climax is enough to forgive some of the flaws and almost makes you wish Benson skipped ahead straight to the sequel. That said, considering that this doesn’t tread any new ground and is riddled with plot holes, it’s probably best to leave Grace’s story behind in the woods.

Girl in Woods will be available on VOD this Friday, June 3rd, 2016.