Damn, Canadian movies are certainly getting a lot better. I remember when a Canadian film meant super low budget acting, music always playing over dialogue and if you were lucky, you got to see an overweight topless man carrying a pig across a field and then strapping said pig to a rocket and watching it blow up, cut to him sitting on the toilet. Fin.
Thankfully, it looks like that trash is in the past and we now are getting some solid Canadian horror flicks, and the next in line is Devil in the Woods, a chilling story with beautiful set pieces and some truly goosebump causing scares to chill the blood in most horror fans.
PLOT SUMMARY
When estranged brothers Adam and Clint attempt to reconnect over a week-long hunting trip in remote British Columbia, they find the tables turned by a mysterious presence lurking in the forest.Convinced that they are now besieged by a supernatural presence, the siblings begrudgingly agree on only one thing: they will have to put aside their differences and work together if they plan on making it out these dark woods alive.
MOVIE REVIEW
In the beautiful and picturesque woods of British Columbia, brothers Clint (Dan Payne) and Adam (Robin Dunne) are trying to mend their strained relationship. Adam is a city boy, who has hated the woods ever since he got lost at the young age of 4. His brother, Clint, is a country boy who lives off the land has followed in their father’s footsteps.
Clint is hoping the hunting trip will allow them to put the past behind them and move on with their lives, however, Adam has an ulterior motive for the journey into the woods, as he has become haunted by a recurring dream involving a creepy area in the same woods they are trekking.
The two set out on their trip, but it doesn’t take long for the weird to crank up to 11, as unusual animal sounds are heard in the woods as the two brothers slowly make their way up the mountain, one step closer to whatever is out there.
Devil in the Dark is a flick that takes its time to get to the good stuff. The film establishes the strained relationship between the two brothers while offering flashbacks explaining their troubled past. Some may find the slowdown to be bothersome, but due to the beautiful, creepy scenery of the dense woods the two are walking through, the film manages to create an unsettling vibe when hardly anything is happening. You can rest easy, though, that when the film finally settles into the horror, we have been craving, it delivers a solid punch that will raise the hair on your neck.
The films biggest fault lies in the story not being fully explained. We as the audience never know what is hunting them—although I have an idea—and the ending lands on a cliffhanger that begs the film to keep going just a little bit longer. There is, however, definite potential for a sequel, and any chance to go back into those woods would be fantastic.
VERDICT
I enjoyed Devil in the Dark, slow pace and all. The film’s set pieces are creeptastic, and the story offers up enough spooks to satisfy any horror fan. Unfortunately, the film plays out like it wants to create a sequel, so a lot of the story is left unexplained, but hopefully the film does well enough to warrant another one. Give the film a watch On Demand and Digital HD today and let me know what you think in the comments below.