As mentioned in previous reviews, numerous studios were trying to capitalize on the slasher boom of 1981. For every polished effort from a major like Paramount or MGM, you also had a low-budget quickie. Enter James Bryan, a Texas-born filmmaker who started making soft-core films like Escape to Passion and The Dirtiest Game. After filming 1977’s Boogie Vision, Bryan decided to make a horror film set in the Rocky Mountains for his next project. With a budget of $150,000, they shot the movie in the summer of 1980 in the Sierra Mountains. While they filmed most of the death scenes on the weekends, the scenes with the main cast took ten days. Though the original script was titled Sierra, the distributor Seymour Borde & Associates wanted to change the title. The film was given a limited release in November 1981 as Don’t Go in the Woods!
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Rating
Synopsis
Friends Peter (Jack McClelland), Joanne (Angie Brown), Ingrid (Mary Gail Artz), and Craig (James P. Hayden) decide to go camping. As they’re trekking through the woods, they’re unaware that there’s a maniac (Tom Drury) running around killing random people. His victims include honeymooners Dick (Frank Millen) and Cherry (Carolyn Braza), an artist, some campers, and a fisherman. Unfortunately, Peter witnesses the fisherman getting killed, so the maniac chases him, killing Craig in the process. Joanne gets killed as well, though Peter and Ingrid barely manage to escape from the maniac. They make their way to a nearby town and alert the Sheriff (Ken Carter) about the situation. While Ingrid recovers in the hospital, a grief-stricken Peter decides to return to the woods and go after the maniac. There’s a good reason why people try telling you don’t go in the woods….alone!
Review
Honestly, it’s challenging to review Don’t Go in the Woods, as it’s objectively terrible, but the filmmaker might’ve intended it. Given the movie’s box cover, you would think this will be some sort of blood-drenched forest slasher. While there’s plenty of blood to be had, the film has a weirdly goofy tone throughout, exemplified by the music. James Bryan was trying to go for a horror-comedy, but it has more unintentional laughs than intentional ones. Most of the cast would later work behind the scenes, and you can see why since they’re all terrible. Everyone’s delivery is flat, no one has any natural chemistry with each other, and they come off as bland. I’d say the only actor who does a halfway decent job is Tom Drury, whose dialogue mainly consists of grunts. At least he has a unique look as a sort of forest-dwelling hobo with a jingle stick.
It’s hard to judge the filmmaking on display considering how low the budget was, but even still, it’s not good. The editing feels choppy; characters are randomly thrown in and killed almost immediately, and nothing makes sense. We’re not told who the killer is, their motivation, or how the main characters know each other. While Halloween didn’t give Michael Myers any motivation, we at least knew his history and understood why he’s dangerous. Though giving too much backstory can lessen a killer’s impact, no information makes it hard to care about them. One positive I can give this movie is that there are some pretty bloody death sequences. Even with its 82-minute runtime, there are tons of dead spots that makes this a rough sit. Overall, hardcore slasher fans might find something worthwhile, but Don’t Go in the Woods is a trip not worth taking.
Buy Don’t Go in the Woods from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2WyvDrl.
