Woodland Gray (2021)
Directed by: Adam Reider
Written by: Adam Reider, Jesse Toufexis
Starring: Artwork Hindle, Chelsea Goldwater, Gerardo Lo Dico, Jenny Raven, Katharine King So, Mathieu Lapointe, Matthew Giuffrida, Ryan Blakely, Tristan D. Lalla
WOODLAND GREY (2021)
Directed by Adam Reider
Screening at Grimmfest Easter 2022
A younger girl decides to spend a couple of days alone, tenting within the woods, to heal and grieve the lack of her grandfather. Nonetheless, throughout her hike she finally ends up injured. Fortunately for her, a person dwelling within the woodland involves her rescue and takes her unconscious physique again to his house. Waking up in his caravan, she’s initially grateful for the person’s assist, however upon discovering his secret in a locked shed out within the woods, she’s decides to do every little thing she will so as to escape. Sadly for her, the woodland has different concepts…
Contemplative slow-burn thriller WOODLAND GREY isn’t your typical film. Mixing the mundane with the surreal, we see a narrative unfold that repeatedly reveals extra solutions to questions while nonetheless retaining a shroud of thriller that enables the viewer to unpick the layers it presents.
Once we first meet the characters of Emily and William, we’re unsure what has introduced them to the woods. Emily is discovered unconscious by William, and William takes her again to his ramshackled caravan within the woods. Sure scenes main so far give us cause to query William and what lies throughout the woods, for example the whistling that we hear. William appears to be terrified of what lurks throughout the timber, however on the similar time it’s exhausting to know if we are able to belief him. When Emily awakens from her slumber, the stress actually begins to mount as we’re not sure whether or not William has ailing intentions in the direction of her. The dearth of dialog from William appears to make the matter worse and when he ultimately does communicate, he’s fast to snap at her. Caught within the woods with a leg harm, making strolling a troublesome activity, means Emily’s not going wherever far with out a wrestle.
A lot of the movie performs out like a psychological drama in that we’ve got to attempt to choose these folks purely on how they understand one another at the moment. It’s clear William is aware of greater than he’s letting on, however whether or not it’s for higher or worse is a threat Emily’s unsure she desires to take.
There comes a pivotal second within the movie when a brand new aspect is launched and that’s when issues begin to get bizarre, embracing extra of the horror roots than it did earlier than. Mix this with the remoted setting of the woods, the place each tree appears similar to the opposite, and it out of the blue feels suffocating, as if the partitions are closing in on this open area. No doubt, one may simply get misplaced in there. It didn’t take a lot to get Hansel and Gretel vibes although this story doesn’t pan out the identical means because the Brothers Grimm story.
Superbly shot and scored, WOODLAND GREY is an inviting but uncommon expertise. I discovered it missing in some locations, significantly because it appeared to lull all through the center, however the thriller of it saved me to seek out out what the heck was happening.
Should you’re a fan of the folks horror fashion, then WOODLAND GREY might provide sufficient to enchantment although don’t count on a lot shock or horror because it largely performs on psychological and thriller drama strengths.
Score: 
