CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Coventry Based on the title, DVD-cover image, casting choices and short synopsis, "Deep in the Woods" looks like a dumb and formulaic backwoods slasher/survival horror flick. And for about 50% that is exactly the case, but for the remaining 50% it's a surprisingly stylish, experimental and unsettling Goth-horror tryout. Writer/director Lionel Delplanque does a handful of brilliant things with the cinematography and thought up a few downright and genuinely disturbing aspects (the creepy little kid!), but unfortunately he also wanted to be too "American" when it comes to the rest of the screenplay. The teenage protagonists are utmost annoying stereotypes and they do the stupidest things imaginable, like going into the woods at night after they received specific warning there's a maniac killer on the loose. The deaths/killings are rather mundane and people keep appearing and disappearing without any proper explanation, but that about concludes the bad news. "Deep in the Woods" features a strong opening sequence and the interesting idea to process the Little Red Riding Hood fairy-tale into the script. Five obnoxious wannabe actors are heading out to a mansion the middle of a desolated forest, where they are hired to perform a private theater show to the grandson of an eccentric old man. Upon their arrival, they find out the old man is a crazed wheelchair-bound psycho with oppressed homo-erotic desires, his loyal servant is a perverted taxidermist and the grandson is a silent and autistic but terrifying child with a major trauma. Soon after their (abysmal) live performance on stage, the group find themselves pursued by a lunatic killer in a leather (!) wolf costume. Delplanque manages to insert several suspense-laden moments during the cat & mouse game and the climax, although preposterous and over-the-top, is quite exhilarating. It's very strange that Lionel Delplanque wasn't offered a one-way ticket to Hollywood after this (like his colleagues Alexandre Aja, Xavier Gens and Pascal Laugier), because his competent directing is undoubtedly film's biggest trump. I guess the script was ultimately too weak for him to become noticed.

gridoon The director of "Deep in the Woods" shows a strong sense of visual style (there is, for example, a point-of-view shot from inside a bag!), but it's all for naught. This movie is a real mess; people appear out of nowhere and disappear into nowhere, and the main characters are a little too dumb, even for typical horror-movie "heroes". Give this director a decent script, and we might actually be onto something. As a side note, the stage play these kids set up is terrible enough to turn anyone into a killer. (**)

kendel_17 The movie itself was very confusing... even after viewing the entire thing I nor anybody else understood. In addition the first 30-45 mins of the movie were taken up mostly by sex scenes, one which looked like it might turn into an orgy and another between two girls. All in all it was not a bad movie, but it had a lot of holes in the story and too many sexual subplots.

scace-2 I can't believe all the low ratings for the French film Deep in the Woods. There are incredible young actors, notably Clément Sibony, and an especially hot Vincent Lecoeur. There is explicit lesbianism. It includes a very tense, satisfying Old man/young hunk(Lecoeur) bedroom scene. There is pot smoking and a rather unusual party scene. While the nudity is minimum, this is a French retelling of a familiar childhood tale. The film may seem overall simplistic but a deeper viewing will show it operates on several levels. I enjoyed listening to the french dialog while using the english subtitles. The film commentary was fair. The musical score is good. The budget on the film was small. This is incredible when there are many comments that the film is more style, than substance. (Perhaps I'd give more credence to Decoteau's constant poor mouthing if he created stylistic touches similar to Lionel Delplanque.) The film is not fast paced. It can be considered slow, with a pace similar to The Talented Mr. Ripley, but I think it's a masterpiece... but perhaps I was just mesmerized by Lecoeur!