Eyes of the Woods

Director(s) - Darrin Reed, F. Miguel Valenti, and Mark Villalobos
Starring - Walter Phelan (The X-Files, House of 1000 Corpses), Elizabeth O'Brick (The Shadows), and Lira Kellerman (Haunting of Winchester House)
Release Date - 2009
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Pray that you're the first to die."
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      I have posted dozens of reviews for films where I expressed my opinion on how artwork and titles sell indie flicks.  However, as many times as I have said that none have pulled me in and made me wonder like the film Eyes of the Woods.  The fine folks over at MVD sent me this film with numerous others but this one caught my eye.  The artwork is phenomenal and immediately pulled me in.  However, I am now used to being suckered with great artwork masking a shitty flick.  I threw the film on the shelf and looked at it everyday until I could muster enough courage to watch it.  That finally came recently when I had a little movie marathon and decided I could not hide my curiosity any longer.   
     The film opens during the time Pilgrims were settling America.  Legend has it that one of them made a pact with the Devil and is now an immortal beast craving blood and flesh. The beast destroys the colony before vanishing for centuries.  We then jump to present day and a group of your typical twenty-somethings are on a road trip when their van predictably breaks down.  The group decides to camp in the nearby woods and party it up.  However, during the night the cliched goth girl wonders off when a spirit awakens her.  She takes her to an empty grave to await her fate.  In the morning the group awakens to find her missing and sets out to find her only to learn that the forest is alive and forever changing making them lost.  To make matters worse, an unknown entity is following them.  The group wonders aimlessly through the woods until they reach a marker for the old settlement.  Things then turn dark when the beast reveals itself killing everyone it crosses paths with.  However, the girls in the group put up a fight that the beast did not expect.
     This film started out on the right foot with one of the best opening sequences I have ever seen in a film. The film opens with the perfect horror film atmosphere with amazing lighting and cinematography.  Then the film hits you with an amazing creature and enough blood to drown a school full of the mentally ill.  I can not praise the opening of this film enough.  Sadly, after 15 or so minutes in the film changes gears dramatically.  We then get a film that is on the same level as a polished turd...which is pure shit.  The remainder of the film looks nothing like the opening sequence which is really a let down.  The acting in the first portion of the film is fairly decent.  However, the second half is very bad.  The entire cast in the second half really forces themselves into character and it shows horribly.  The story is nothing new but the first half showed that it had what it takes to set it apart from the rest.  Once again, the second half ruined what could have been an amazing period piece monster flick.  Finally, the special effects in this one is amazing.  The monster looks great and so do most of the on screen kills.  There is a few that does not look that great but the majority rules on this one.  Overall, this film started out with a bang and ended with a thud as it fell short.  I can not recommend this one.