Review by Ruby: A young man takes his indie band deep into the woods for a weekend of complete solitude to find song-writing inspiration. But soon, they find they are not alone at all.
Vincent D'Onofrio, in his feature-length directorial debut, has taken a group of non-actors and 12 days of filming in the woods, expertly mixed them, and turned it all into a little gem of a scary movie. It has all the elements of a good slasher flick: film editing that creates a mysterious aura, creepy musical sound effects, foreshadowing, and screams and blood enough to satisfy any slasher-phile but not so much as to disconcert those of us who prefer psychological thrillers over gratuitous sadistic violence. Call it Grand Guignol for the thinking audience.
But do not underestimate the musical part of this slasher musical. Sam Bisbee has written a killer (pun intended) soundtrack of indie rock songs that engage as well as entertain. I'm nowhere near being a young person any more, and I was afraid the music might not be to my liking, but Bisbee writes such interesting, intelligent music with truly poetic lyrics, and the kids' voices mastered the nuances so well, I found this becoming my new favorite soundtrack. The music integrated with the images wonderfully, making a perfect blend of sight and sound.
D'Onofrio, with his vast and versatile acting experience, did a brilliant job of casting these musicians and an even more brilliant job showing them the art of appearing totally natural on camera.
The script was conceived and written by D'Onofrio, Bisbee, and Joe Vinciguerra. Please do not let this be their last film collaboration! Their fresh ideas and sly sense of humor melded into a thoroughly enjoyable, if violent, evening of entertainment. Tell your friends. Pass it on. Just don't go in the woods alone.
Vincent D'Onofrio, in his feature-length directorial debut, has taken a group of non-actors and 12 days of filming in the woods, expertly mixed them, and turned it all into a little gem of a scary movie. It has all the elements of a good slasher flick: film editing that creates a mysterious aura, creepy musical sound effects, foreshadowing, and screams and blood enough to satisfy any slasher-phile but not so much as to disconcert those of us who prefer psychological thrillers over gratuitous sadistic violence. Call it Grand Guignol for the thinking audience.
But do not underestimate the musical part of this slasher musical. Sam Bisbee has written a killer (pun intended) soundtrack of indie rock songs that engage as well as entertain. I'm nowhere near being a young person any more, and I was afraid the music might not be to my liking, but Bisbee writes such interesting, intelligent music with truly poetic lyrics, and the kids' voices mastered the nuances so well, I found this becoming my new favorite soundtrack. The music integrated with the images wonderfully, making a perfect blend of sight and sound.
D'Onofrio, with his vast and versatile acting experience, did a brilliant job of casting these musicians and an even more brilliant job showing them the art of appearing totally natural on camera.
The script was conceived and written by D'Onofrio, Bisbee, and Joe Vinciguerra. Please do not let this be their last film collaboration! Their fresh ideas and sly sense of humor melded into a thoroughly enjoyable, if violent, evening of entertainment. Tell your friends. Pass it on. Just don't go in the woods alone.