Don't Go in the Woods

Director - Vincent D'Onofrio (Five Minutes, Mr. Welles, Full Metal Jacket)
Starring - Matt Sbeglia, Casey Smith, and Soomin Lee
Release Date - 2010
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Making a hit can be a killer"
Format - Streaming (Netflix)

Rating (out of 5):

     Horror, as fascinating as it is, is a genre that has became watered down in recent years with major production companies releasing remake after remake of classic films.  Now genre filmmakers have to be very original and think outside to box to really give the fans something new to see.  Sadly, not all these attempts at something new is successful and these films slip off into the dark like a fart in the wind. That brings me to the slasher musical Don't Go in the Woods.  That's right...slasher musical.  Musicals and horror typically don't mix because it removes the horror from the film.  It is impossible to have a dark and morbid musical.  The group singing and dancing kills the horror element but does not necessarily ruin the film. Anyway, I had no idea this film was actually a musical until I watched it.  The only reason I wanted to see this one was because it was directed by Vincent D'Onofrio who is better known for his role in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.  I was curious to see where this actor turned director would take his directing debut so I found it on Netflix and gave it a go.
     The film follows an indie rock band as they head out on a camping trip away from drugs, cellphones, and women so they can write new material to record. However, only one member of the group is really up for that.  The entire group with the exception of him just wants party and have a good time.  This pisses him off and he lashes out to his band mates raising tension among the group.  After a few jam sessions and the band gets a few tunes written they are surprised by the band's unsaid leader's girlfriend arrives and she brought with her a group of girls to party.  This pisses off her boyfriend and things spiral out of control from there when a top hat wearing maniac arrives and kills them all one by one.  Could the killer be one of them or a maniac that lives in the woods?

     When I first turned this on and witnessed the incredibly awkward song I thought for sure I would hate this movie but when it was all said (sung) and done I actually enjoyed it...and I am embarrassed to say that.  Don't get me wrong here, this film is bad but for some sick and twisted reason I really enjoyed it.  The acting shows real talent and camera presence but it also shows a lot of inexperience.  When I looked at imdb for the film and the cast I saw that a lot of the cast members have no prior film experience so that explained a lot.  More experience in front of the camera would have went a long way in this film.  The story is nothing new and D'Onofrio shows he is really a fan of classic slashers because he followed the tested slasher formula perfectly.  Sadly, turning the slasher flick into a musical failed horribly and to make matters worse he uses shitty indie rock.  This ruined the perfect slasher setting the film crafted and almost ruined the film.  Finally, the film has some great kills that surpass a lot of the kills you will see in the classic era of slashers.  The special effects are not the best I have seen but they are good enough to work with the kills we do get.  Overall, this slasher will surprise you if you can survive the shitty music.  I recommend it but you have been warned.