By Geno McGahee
On June 3rd, the cable and HD digital release of GIRL IN WOODS will be available from Candy Factory Films. Written and Directed by Jeremy Benson, GIRL IN WOODS is as advertised with a girl being stuck in the woods and desperately trying to survive. It’s a survival horror with some mystery elements and a hint of monster movie.
Grace (Juliet Reeves London) is in the woods with her fiancé, Jim (Jeremy London), and the actor and actress are a married couple in reality. Jeremy London is most known for his role in the Kevin Smith movie “MALLRATS,” and he does quite well in the small role he has in this film. While Jim speaks to his fiancé, a gunshot blows off half of his head and now Grace has no idea what to do. She is lost in the woods, but she is haunted by the past and has terrible visions that may or may not be true.
As she battles for survival, she thinks back to the marital problems that her parents had. Her dad (Lee Perkins) and mother (Charisma Carpenter) were having major issues and the young Grace (Shaun Elizabeth) had a hard time understanding. Carpenter started on BAYWATCH. I knew I remembered her from somewhere, and I found it interesting that Lee Perkins is noted as having “piercing blue eyes” on IMDB. I began to look but they were damn piercing.
One of the big problems with this film was the choice of the young actress to play little Grace. She really needed some refining. Every actor and actress in this film seemed to be incredibly well chosen and the youngest actress was not on the same level. Nowhere near. Perhaps it was thought that she would not be that much of a problem because of the minor role, but it made this film seem lower budget than everything else suggested. Whenever she was on the screen, it was tough to get through.
In the woods, Grace encounters a monster that roams around and hopes to kill her, apparently. She has dealt with these sorts of things as a child. There was a monster in her closet that her mother helped her cope with. Her father, although loving, was distant and could not connect with his wife. There was a lot of baggage that Grace had to carry from that and the medication she was on wasn’t helping much and it got worse as it began to wear off.
With no direction, Grace continues her path in hopes for salvation. She begins talking to herself and her inner doubt was evident. She roams aimlessly, finding the monster again and electing to fight it the best way that she can. Her memories continue to flood her mind and she begins to lose more and more of her sanity as the time goes on. She battles the elements, starvation, and the potential threat of snipers and monsters. Her life is hanging by a thread.
GIRL IN WOODS is predictable and the writing isn’t the best. This movie shows more than tells, which is good. Juliet Reeves London proves she can carry the film and use her ability to show her emotions to great effect. The flashbacks with the dialogue involving the parents and young Grace is clunky and despite the great cast, it doesn’t feel genuine. The good overcomes the bad because London really gets into the performance and has this grit and edge that made the role work incredibly well. Despite the predictability, questionable dialogue at times, and simple story, GIRL IN WOODS actually proves entertaining and worth a watch. It was nice to see the MALLRATS guy back and the BAYWATCH babe back and those piercing blue eyes for the first time as well. I recommend GIRL IN WOODS. I enjoyed it.
Rating: 6/10
