December 18th
A Night in the Woods (2011)
Excellent British take on the well trodden formula of found footage movies ala The Blair Witch Project. Yes its derivative, and yes it has basically the same plot devices but it works for me. Set on Dartmoor as Autumn begins to take hold i found A Night in the Woods to be an enjoyable and slightly disturbing film.
For anyone fortunate enough to be able to walk in our beautiful unspoilt countryside for miles without seeing another living soul as i am lucky enough to be able to do, should get something from the film. If anyone has ever tried walking in said countryside in the dead of night they will also know how true to life A Night in the Woods actually is. You cannot see a thing and even familliar routes become near death traps as a single rock or ditch could have you saying good bye to the use of an ankle. Similarly once you lose the train of thought that made you walk in the pitch blackness then you realise just how much of a stranger in a strange land you really are. The slightest sound has you warily looking round, unable to see anything in any direction, once you get that sensation of being spooked its pretty much all over.
Its this feeling of unease and fear which really works in A Night in the Woods. Ignore all the cliche's - the bickering characters, the witch hunter legend, artifacts hanging from branches, the film is well acted, well directed and deserving of your attention.
|