Presents

Don't Go In The Woods

Having been a fan of 80s slasher fare since the actual 80s, it struck me as strange that I didn't remember seeing Don't Go In The Woods.  I shouldn't have been too shocked, after all, in the 80s there were movies telling us 'don't' about so many things, it was all (in my opinion) an offshoot of the 'Just Say No' drug program, as long as I was just saying no to drugs, why no just say no to going in the basement, or looking in the closet, or going into the house, or going in the woods.  It all made perfect sense at the time.  Well, when I saw the Don't Go In The Woods was finally on DVD, I couldn't resist a little walk down memory lane!

  Don't Go In The Woods, is pretty much your cookie cutter 80s slasher flick.  Four teenagers head out on a weekend hiking trip into the wilderness, only to run across a wild mountain man who doesn't like his territory infringed on, and so anyone who crosses that line is killed.  It's really that simple.  You see, in the 80s, we weren't looking for deep meaning or ulterior motives, just give us some kind of monster or maniac with a machete or knife and a bunch of teenaged cannon fodder and we had ourselves a movie, and that's the spirit of Don't Go In The Woods.  Now, you might think that I'm slighting this movie, please don't mistake me, I really enjoyed it.  This is low budget filmmaking at it's best, filmed in Utah over the course of four days, Don't Go In The Woods is the grand-daddy of today's indies, and besides all the obvious flaws in the movie, it still works!  And there's even a set up for a sequel that I think is genius and I'd still love to see!

Don't Go In The Woods isn't as well known (or as polished) as some of the other 80s slasher fare out there, but it has the benefit of being made by people with an obvious passion of filmmaking, as opposed to cashing in on a proven genre, which also adds points in my book.  I'm giving Don't Go In The Woods three out of four cigars, because it's not perfect by any means, but it's still fun, and, after all, who among us hasn't been in the woods and wondered if there might not be some kind of wild monster man out there just waiting to kill us.  So, until next time, when I'll be in my backyard chopping down every tree in sight...just to be safe...remember that the best movies are bad movies.