GIRL IN WOODS *** USA 2016 Dir: Jeremy Benson. 87 mins
Jeremy London takes his psychologically troubled girlfriend (London’s real-life wife Juliet Reeves) into the Smokey Mountain woods to propose. His abrupt, accidental demise leaves her to fend for herself against the elements while battling the disintegration of her already unhinged mind.
An evocative combination of survivalist drama and disorientating mind-fuck horror, GIRL IN WOODS also neatly dovetails with the concept of an intriguing “Mountain Hag” mythology. The comely Reeves, alone on screen for much of the running time, falls apart convincingly as the traumatic present blurs with grim childhood memories (with Charisma Carpenter as her mom) and hallucinatory visions of closet monsters. Her transition from victim to savage is the film’s most compelling facet, and director Benson displays promise with a nicely shot, well paced film with vivid, visceral moments of physical horror.
An evocative combination of survivalist drama and disorientating mind-fuck horror, GIRL IN WOODS also neatly dovetails with the concept of an intriguing “Mountain Hag” mythology. The comely Reeves, alone on screen for much of the running time, falls apart convincingly as the traumatic present blurs with grim childhood memories (with Charisma Carpenter as her mom) and hallucinatory visions of closet monsters. Her transition from victim to savage is the film’s most compelling facet, and director Benson displays promise with a nicely shot, well paced film with vivid, visceral moments of physical horror.
Review by Steven West