Promenons-nous dans les bois (2000) User Reviews

More concerned about its atmosphere than telling its story.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 5/10 · 21 May 2012]

This is a pretty odd little French slasher, that is more concerned about creating an artistic and dark atmosphere than telling a story.

You could say that this movie is taking a bit of a more artistic approach to the genre but unfortunately this doesn't exactly make the movie very interesting or exciting to watch. It does a horrible job at building up- and handling its tension and all of its other horror ingredients.

The film-makers had probably seen a couple of slashers but it doesn't feel like they understood the genre as well. They thought that it was enough to just have a dark atmosphere, throughout the entire movie but this dark atmosphere actually starts to work against the movie. All of the killings are way too dark for instance and it makes it hard to tell what is exactly going on at time. The darkness also ensures that the movie feels pretty tame with its gore, though with a bit more light the movie still could had been a gore-fest, since it has some pretty gruesome killings in it actually.

The story in its core is pretty standard but it loves to see itself as something clever and original. Not that the movie feels pretentious but it's just so that the average movie watcher will find very little original and surprises in this movie, no matter how hard the movie tries at times. You also really won't feel involved with the story at all, or with any of the characters that are in it.

Best thing I can say about the movie is that I didn't hated watching it. I therefore am also going to be quite mild with my rating but still it really isn't a movie that is worth checking out.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Don't bother

[hunter-13 · 4/10 · 27 May 2002]

I've seen plenty of horror films in many different languages. Sure, it looks excellent and the direction is good but the script and plot line sucks big time. It doesn't stand out from the crowd one iota. Just 'cos its french doesn't mean its any better than the american dross. Watch something else instead.

Who's afraid of the big French wolf?

[Coventry · 5/10 · 23 June 2013]

Based on the title, DVD-cover image, casting choices and short synopsis, "Deep in the Woods" looks like a dumb and formulaic backwoods slasher/survival horror flick. And for about 50% that is exactly the case, but for the remaining 50% it's a surprisingly stylish, experimental and unsettling Goth-horror tryout. Writer/director Lionel Delplanque does a handful of brilliant things with the cinematography and thought up a few downright and genuinely disturbing aspects (the creepy little kid!), but unfortunately he also wanted to be too "American" when it comes to the rest of the screenplay. The teenage protagonists are utmost annoying stereotypes and they do the stupidest things imaginable, like going into the woods at night after they received specific warning there's a maniac killer on the loose. The deaths/killings are rather mundane and people keep appearing and disappearing without any proper explanation, but that about concludes the bad news. "Deep in the Woods" features a strong opening sequence and the interesting idea to process the Little Red Riding Hood fairy-tale into the script. Five obnoxious wannabe actors are heading out to a mansion the middle of a desolated forest, where they are hired to perform a private theater show to the grandson of an eccentric old man. Upon their arrival, they find out the old man is a crazed wheelchair-bound psycho with oppressed homo-erotic desires, his loyal servant is a perverted taxidermist and the grandson is a silent and autistic but terrifying child with a major trauma. Soon after their (abysmal) live performance on stage, the group find themselves pursued by a lunatic killer in a leather (!) wolf costume. Delplanque manages to insert several suspense-laden moments during the cat & mouse game and the climax, although preposterous and over-the-top, is quite exhilarating. It's very strange that Lionel Delplanque wasn't offered a one-way ticket to Hollywood after this (like his colleagues Alexandre Aja, Xavier Gens and Pascal Laugier), because his competent directing is undoubtedly film's biggest trump. I guess the script was ultimately too weak for him to become noticed.

Ridiculous-please save your precious time for anything else than seeing this! You can simply take a walk to the woods...

[lomo_the1 · 23 November 2003]

This "film" should be presented at all levels of film courses especially the scripting ones because it has so many flaws in plot and lacks so many parts of a feature film that one can hardly imagine better tool for explaining what should the story for the movie be like.I don't understand that high ranking it got and some comments about other levels of depths of the story made me laughing loud.After first 20 minutes I was angry at myself because I picked the film for my friends but then I was enjoying every illogical turn of the plot, dialogue and acting of characters under given circumstances just for fun.I have no doubt that had Monty Python been still in action they wouldn't let this one pass unnoticed-one of the most absurd charcters was the policeman/detective -when he first appeared on screen -just what was this? At the end one of my friends added "and now there will be a shot on a raven and finish" and after it happened just that we laughed through the credits maybe trying to forget how dull and boring this french "masterpiece" was.

A Disappointment

[dromasca · 3/10 · 18 May 2002]

I am a real fan of French movies. French os my second language, and I spent much of my formative years as a movie fan watching Belmondo, Jean Gabin, or Louis de Funes. However, this movie really disappointed me. Taking the European theme of the Red Chaperon, and turning it into a class B American tean horror movie is a performance on the wrong direction. No real thrill, a lot of blood and an average of a murder for every seven screen minutes, flat acting - this is what one should expect from this flip.

If the American studios put their eyes on this script, which might happen judging the lack of fresh ideas in Hollywood scripts lately - we might have a better quality American re-make of a French movie - for a change!

An embarrassment.

[m-47826 · 1/10 · 22 August 2020]

Now I understand why American horror is bad lately. They try to make it more « serious ». Only failed to realize how pretentious, and underwhelming this is. Best example of it, being Into the Woods. It is so bad, it's funny. I can't really go into much details about it, but the script is a mess. None of the actors give believable performance. And how could they? With such a ridiculous script, and characters that are walking talking stereotypes? It is so comical at times, you wonder how anybody can take any of this seriously. The opening sequence had some kind of a build up. Then the actress makes funny noises, when her character's killed off. The unsettling atmosphere the director went for, can't make up for the unintentionally goofiness. Even the death scenes are a let down. The giant bear trap, being the silliest ever on film. The killer's reveal, on top of being completely expected. Gave one of the worst acting moments of the whole film. After that joke of an inspector, of course. I remember people booing the « horrific » scenes, the first time I saw it in theaters. And after doing it again recently, I can only share the sentiment.

Ugh.......

[shaunpegg · 3/10 · 2 January 2008]

* contains spoilers (if you even care)* Now, I might have went into this film with the wrong attitude. I was expecting a full-on gory slasher. However, this is not what I got. OK, so the film begins with a mother reading her child a story. Then the mom gets killed by somebody strangling her with a rope. Then, we meet the group of teenagers, driving along in the woods to go perform a play. They get to the house and NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING exciting happens for about 20-25 minutes! So, then they go into the woods (except for Sophie, who stays behind). By this time I REALLY wanted to see someone chopped up with an axe or stabbed or something. But no. Instead, when one of the girls comes back, she takes a shower and then gets killed by the killer ramming her face into the mirror and then holding her head underwater. That's probably the most exciting kill in the whole movie, and it didn't excite me at all. Well, then the whole group comes back and so on and so forth. I'll let you see the rest. Sure, the twist ending was slightly surprising, but by then, I didn't really care. One more thing about one of the characters though: Sophie's laugh is extremely annoying. Just shut up! But about the movie: Please do not see this if you are a fan of blood and guts stuff. This has very little. It was extremely disappointing to me and I'm sure it will be to you. The acting and story were both pathetic and it had absolutely nothing to excite.

This is a movie?!

[Verfalk2003 · 1/10 · 2 July 2005]

I have seen Deep in the Woods today and I'm deeply disturbed by this ''movie.'' First of all, I find it hard to believe that the writing staff didn't write the script after a drink or two. First of all, the actors, discover that there is a rapist in the woods, and after that revelation they go for a stroll in the woods?! One of them, Spohie, I think, stays in the house and plays the guitar like she's in her house and is waiting dinner?! And the policeman just gets in the house like the house is his or like he has the keys of the house?! now I know, how can I torment my friends. I'll just let them see Deep in the Woods. For the love of God, don't see this film!

Terrible

[jdutton-6 · 1/10 · 16 February 2006]

This movie was one of the worst movies i have ever seen. If you haven't seen it don't waster your time. It has no real point the plot is horrible I only give this movie a 1 because it won't let you go any further down. My friends and I make better movies with a $300 video camera and a 5 year old could make a better plot in 5 mins. Sorry dude but your movie needs a lot of work and so do you actors. The movie did however show promise in one area the cinematography was actually very nice. But that is the only and I mean only place that you can say anything was above terrible. The acting was terrible the plot was terrible the reason the guy was killing everyone was terrible. the fact that they had to show the guy in the bed so you thought someone was killing him was terrible. that by the way was obviously trying to throw you off to who the killer was but come on any good horror movie doesn't act like they have killed off the killer with no one seeing it except the audience. that was pointless and a waste of time you could have just skipped to the scene where they walk in his room and find the blood on his bed that way you are thinking OK maybe the killer got him too but you don't know because you didn't see it.

Extremely stylish and atmospheric - and somewhat boring

[jangu · 6/10 · 12 April 2005]

I had great expectations for this movie. Since I am a great fan of Dario Argento and his Italian giallos I was thrilled to hear about this french little "giallo-imitation". The beginning with a mother, her child and a murderer is stunning and kept me glued to my seat. After that we are suddenly in the company of five youths (three girls, two guys) in their early twenties and even if they are quite alright for this kind of movie, they are not very interesting.

Things perk up a bit when they arrive to their destination, a beautiful castle somewhere on the french countryside, and meet their host, a rather creepy guy in a wheelchair who makes sexual advances to one of the boys. He has an autistic son who stares ominously throughout the picture and he is quite eerie actually. The movie still looks great and there is a fair amount of tension for half an hour or so.

But after this introduction of almost all of the characters NOTHING HAPPENS for quite a while. We get quite a few scenes with some tension, but no payoff. Since it is a french production, they also throw in some female full frontal nudity in a lesbian love scene for those who like that sort of thing (I don't..). There is a police showing up from nowhere and he disappears just within a few minutes for some reason, only to show up briefly at the end. And the play these youngsters perform is truly abominable. If I had hired these actors I would have asked for a refund!

The final half hour is a little better (when the killings start - they are lensed in a loving, stylish and gory way), but unfortunately the story never gets really exciting or involving. Real suspense is sadly lacking for the most part. There is a great potential buried somewhere here, but apart from the gorgeous visuals and assured directing, it is mostly ignored. The acting is okay I guess (and most of the cast look good!). Clotilde Courau is an adequate heroine, but has tends to laugh hysterically in all the wrong places. It really got on my nerves in the end.

The camera LOVES Vincent Lecoeur but he hasn't a lot to work with like most of the others. * minor spoiler * The only part with some teeth is Axel de Fersen (the wheelchair guy) and actor François Berléand really hams it up entertainingly in that part. And the old horror movie cliché is still valid, a man or woman in a wheelchair certainly has some hidden secrets. *End of spoiler *

After all this you might expect me to dislike this movie. Wrong! I truly enjoyed it for a number of reasons. It's gaudy look and big-budget visuals (it really is a feast for the eyes). One of the first shots is a bird against a slightly cloudy sky and that image is almost worth the price of admission alone. The luxurious and atmospheric score that accompanies all the mayhem is classy and nice. The murder set-pieces that are choreographed with assurance and style. Let's just hope that this director can sink his teeth in a better script next time. Then we might TRULY be able to look forward to a great horror movie, one that even could become a classic within it's genre!

Weird, slow, indifferently dubbed and ultimately ludicrous.

[gridoon · 5/10 · 14 December 2003]

The director of "Deep in the Woods" shows a strong sense of visual style (there is, for example, a point-of-view shot from inside a bag!), but it's all for naught. This movie is a real mess; people appear out of nowhere and disappear into nowhere, and the main characters are a little too dumb, even for typical horror-movie "heroes". Give this director a decent script, and we might actually be onto something. As a side note, the stage play these kids set up is terrible enough to turn anyone into a killer. (**)

French horrors.

[Nightman85 · 8/10 · 25 September 2005]

Nicely done French-made slasher is much better than some critics would have you think.

A band of young actors go off to an isolated mansion to perform a play. But once there a series of strange things leads the youths to believe that all is not right.

Overall a terrific foreign horror film. Director Lionel Delplanque gives a stunning visual sense to this film, whose story is a bit on the dark and bizarre side. The stalking/attack sequences are eerie and effective. The cast does well in their roles, Lecoeur, Sibony, and Courau being the best of the young stars. Berleand also does a good job with his especially weird character.

While some give this film the shaft as a direct-to-video flop, it's really much better than that. Give it a turn genre fans.

*** out of ****

Grim fairy tale steeped in Euro-Gothic traditions

[Libretio · 6/10 · 28 December 2004]

DEEP IN THE WOODS (Promenons-nous dans les Bois)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS

UK journalist Alan Jones credits this ultra-successful Gallic shocker with helping to kickstart the recent trend in French genre cinema (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, CRIMSON RIVERS, etc.), and it isn't hard to see why. Lionel Delplanque's hallucinatory fable attends the fortunes of five gorgeous young actors - two boys, three girls - during their visit to an isolated French château where they're hired to perform 'Little Red Riding Hood' for the oddball owner (François Berléand) and his autistic nephew (Thibault Truffert). News reaches them that a killer has escaped from police custody in the area, and when Berléand abruptly disappears (he's attacked in his bed), the actors are stalked by a murderous presence which kills them, one by one...

Though clearly influenced by its US counterparts (most notably PSYCHO and THE EVIL DEAD), DEEP IN THE WOODS also rehearses the core motifs of the Grimm fairytale ' Little Red Riding Hood' whilst simultaneously lifting most of its visual cues from European genre cinema, especially the films of Dario Argento, whose works are reflected in the classy camera moves, Gothic setting and dreamlike narrative structure; in other words, the plot meanders, but the movie LOOKS magnificent. However, we learn virtually nothing about the principal characters, except that they're sexually adventurous (two of the girls share a lesbian relationship, though one turns out to be bisexual) and that one of the guys (played by the impossibly handsome Vincent Lecœur, whose beauty is *worshipped* by Denis Rouden's appreciative camera) seems intrigued by Berléand's obvious attraction to him.

As the bodies pile up, Delplanque's screenplay (co-written with Annabel Perrechon) casts suspicion in all directions, but the resolution is frankly incomprehensible and the build-up is stifled by the director's insistence on turning cinematic cartwheels in an effort to supplement the meagre narrative. Thankfully, the closing sequences defy expectations (there's no prolonged battle between virginal survivor and monstrous killer, for instance), but the characters are mere ciphers, which makes it hard to care one way or the other. Sumptuously designed, the film is stylish to a fault, but it's also shallow and unscary, the work of an enthusiastic director trying too hard to impress with his feature debut. Co-stars include Denis Lavant (BEAU TRAVAIL) and Marie Trintignant (daughter of French film legend Jean-Louis Trintignant), who died in 2003 following a violent assault for which her boyfriend - French rock singer Bertrand Cantat - was eventually tried and convicted.

(French dialogue)

if a s*** film falls in the woods, and no-ones there, does it make a sound?

[ian_campbell6 · 1/10 · 21 January 2008]

kinda looked like an interesting triller from the box, but after 15 mins realised something was missing.

there's a lot of 'homage' (ripoff) throughout. very Argento like for the intro (the best bit),like a budget version of Suspiria, features the trademark doll, strong colours and stylised killings, but there's something about this film that just doesn't make the viewer wanna watch...

maybe it was just way to arty? frequently unintentionally misleading, it cuts all over the place, and then suddenly someone springs out for a 'slow' scare. the bathroom death scene was frustrating to watch- burnt out lighting on the screen for a minute...whats going on? oh someones dead...

the end = yawnnn.

my girlfriend found it eerie, but I really don't see why. no tension or suspense at all. why the 18 cert? ONLY cos of the sex and nudity...

I really like french films and was disappointed, but if you've seen a lot of horror you'll expect to see more than 'whats in the woods', cos it ain't much...

A Visually Splendid

[immortalalice · 22 January 2002]

Deep in the Woods (aka:Promenons-nous dans les bois) is a sort of French spin on the glossy post-Scream teen slasher. All the ingredients are present, from the cast of beautiful young men and women, the hip soundtrack, right on down to the film's packaging, which looks straight out of Dimension's art department. However, all similiarities end there. Judging this "book" by it's cover would be a big mistake, because Deep in the Woods is more Argento than Craven, and is one of the finest examples of European horror to make it on to DVD.

The film opens with a long traveling shot of a woman reading "Little Red Riding Hood" to a child, and it's a dazzling introduction, with the camera peering through a keyhole and gliding into the room, leading up a truly unsettling murder. We are then introduced to our lead players, a quintet of actors hired to perform Red Riding Hood for an eccentric millionaire, Axel de Fersen(Berleand), and his autistic grandson, Nicolas ( a spooky kid named Thibault Truffert) . As the title suggests, Axel's home is an isolated castle deep within the woods, and from the moment the group arrives, there is an immediate sense of dread, with Axel displaying a rather nasty temperment,( as well as a bit of "affection" for Wilfried (Lecoeur)), a bizarre "game-keeper" named Stephane (Denis Levant) who hovers over Axel protectively, and, of course, the autistic Nicolas, who manages to be creepy just by sitting there. Meanwhile, the police are in hot pursuit of a serial rapist who has apparently taken up residence in the 10 kilometers of woods surrounding Axel's estate. Before long, we are thrown headlong into a Giallo-like murder-mystery that works quite well until the final act, where the film seems to run out of gas. Still, it's quite a ride while it lasts!

Delplanque's direction is the real star here. The bio on the DVD says he was only 27 years old when he completed Deep in the Woods, and I have to say, I was really impressed, if not downright shocked, by his ability to turn this relatively formulaic tale into a splendidly entertaining visual feast! If this is any indication of what this guy's next project will look like, get me my ticket now! From quick cuts, long shots, ingenious angles and some spectacular point-of-view stuff, the camera becomes as organic as the characters (and in some cases, more so). In the hands of a lesser filmmaker this film could have easily been a kill-by-numbers I Know What You Did Last Summer rehash, but Delplanque's unique visuals keep you glued to the screen until the rather unsatisfying conclusion.

As a whole, I highly recommend Deep in the Woods. It's leagues better than any of it's American counterparts (although so is sleeping or watching paint dry), and is sure to please fans of Argento, Bava, et all. The only complaints I have are the same complaints I always have with Giallo's and that is the cardboard characterizations and lack of logic in the script, although Deep in the Woods is actually pretty consistent in the latter.

As far as extras, there are a bunch, but they aren't all that. There is the whole cast/crew bios section, but, aside from the director, who cares? No one stood out as the next Gerard Depardieu, so I really didn't care what Maud Buquet had on her resume'. There are also two trailers which are virtually identical, save the French trailer shows full frontal nudity and most of the goriest bits, so, while it's great to watch, wait till you've seen the film before watching the naked ladies over and over. There is also a commentary by Brian Yuzna of all people, who is called "Horror Expert" on the liner notes. He reads from notes scribbled by Delplanque, and then throws in his two cents. His commentary is actually pretty cool, because he seems genuinely impressed with the director's work, but it would have been nice to hear from Delplanque himself, even if they had to subtitle his commentary. Rounding out the package are the nice English and French 5.1 audio tracks. Both the video and audio presentation are flawless, but since this is a 2000 release I'd expect no less.

All in all, a decent package of an above average flick by Artisan and a real treat for anyone who has yet to recover from the Dawson's Creek era of the horror genre. Pretty people CAN die in very ugly ways, after all!

A pitiful attempt at a slasher film

[misfitsrainman · 1/10 · 15 May 2007]

This was more an attempt to get all three of the leading actresses naked than a serious attempt at a horror flick. It was boring and not to mention not the least bit scary. More than anything it lacked any kind of sense of direction - had a fragmented and disjointed back story that never did get explained and really bad acting to boot. The creepy kid was the scariest thing about the whole movie. I'm not really sure if the script was just this bad or the director was just trying to figure out ways to get the actresses clothes off. Although they were mildly hot, it didn't fit in this movie at all and actually just made the film seem silly. I've actually seen better story lines in cheap porn flicks than this.

In short, save your money and your time...this isn't even worth the price of a rental.

French trying non-stereotypically to be American stereotypes.

[rlcsljo · 5/10 · 2 September 2002]

This movie started out so typically to be an American style teen slasher movie, I almost forgot it had a French title. Then the first thing that hit me was that these kids skin was too clear! Then they failed to generate any group cohesiveness that would indicate that they really knew each other and just weren't some random people thrown together to perform at a rich guys house.

Then we get the typical Vincent Price "welcome to my castle" introductions and I thought--this just might work as retro fifties schlock horror. The gratuitous nudity, all female, started to really get me interested, but bad (even worse than the kids) acting on the part of the background characters, totally lost me.

As mentioned before, the photography had a kind of a mixture of "Blair Witch Project" and "The Howling", with some interesting variations on some standard killings, that just seemed forced.

My recommendation: Get a prettier girl with better legs to wear the short skirts and do more Karen Black up the skirt terror scenes while she is being chased by the killer.

As I was thinking: "there's no way they can keep this up"...

[Nostromo-11 · 5/10 · 16 June 2000]

The story is about a group of young actors going to a rich man's mansion to perform the story of little red riding hood for his kid. The first 20 minutes of this film are excellent. A weird, claustrophobic atmosphere is set, and everything (music, titles, photography) flows from one thing to another and really drags one into the story. As I was thinking "there's no way they can keep up this level of quality for the rest of the movie", things began to slow down, plot was feeling constructed, rhythm and timing became awkward, and acting didn't stay consistent. There are elements indicating that the original story of l.r.r. hood is transposed to a modern era -the wolf and the hunter are there- but if there were other characters of the original story, then I didn't quite catch them. The whole feels very plot-centered, with the usual twists and explanation in the last 5 minutes. The only thing that can keep one interested is the photography - it's excellent.

A total waste of time

[grg_sledgedrumer · 2/10 · 30 July 2021]

This was one of the worst "horror" films i ve have ever watched. And i ve seen a looooot of them.

Terrible writting so so so terrible, actors that act like they forgotten the script they keep staring amd staring in the void, scenes soooo slowly shot that at some point it got on my nerves.

Irrational behaviors of the actors like when the kid stabs himself and the buttler sits the girl down by force, the next thing they should do is argue with the guest pack their things and go. And instead we see them having sex laying down naked like nothing happened.

And the turn of events is so childish. I mean the killer is the one who cant walk?! Oh who would have thought?!

There is a greek comedy series called Crimes/Eglimata thats has exactly the same plot at the end lol!

Just dont watch it. Please...

Very Weird French B-Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 12 March 2005]

A group of artists, composed of the young actors Wilfried (Vincent Lecoer) and Matthieu (Clément Sibony) and the actresses Sophie (Clotilde Courau), Mathilde (Maud Buquet) and the dumb Jeanne (Alexia Stresi), is hired by a millionaire, Axel de Fersen (François Bérleand), to present a performance of Little Red Riding Hood in his isolated castle to celebrate the birthday of his grandson. Meanwhile, the police advises that a serial killer is raping and killing young women in the woods around that area. During the night, the group feels trapped and threatened in the castle, guessing who is and where might be the killer.

"Deep in the Woods" is a very weird French B-Movie. The characters are badly constructed, the troupe of actors and actresses are very stupid, the locals are very bizarre, the story has many clichés and flaws, the screenplay is a complete mess and the acting of a great part of the cast is ridiculous. The photography is good, and probably this is the best this movie can offer. For Brazilians, I would like to present one additional remark: last year, the distributor Play Arte released the DVD "Wrong Turn" with the title "Pânico na Floresta" (which means "Panic in the Forest"). Now, the distributor "Europa Filmes" has just released "Deep in the Woods" with the same title in Portuguese ("Pânico na Floresta"). Therefore, the reader can imagine the confusion for a common Brazilian users, when he or she goes to a rental or to a store and gets the wrong DVD. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Pânico na Floresta" ("Panic in the Forest")

Not just a French Slasher...

[insomniac_rod · 7/10 · 6 August 2006]

Nice French Horror effort. I don't think this is just a French Slasher flick. The movie has a simple plot, as many American Slashers from the 80's but the truth is that the plot is very well developed and even has scenes that you don't expect and twist ending.

The characters are filled with clichés but not as dumb as in many American Slashers. I'd say that most of the characters are likable. The "villians" are also pretty good. The acting is good overall but this movie asks for little talent.

The gore is very good actually. I was impressed by some gruesome death scenes and excellent make-up gore. The direction is clever and fast paced. The movie is visually stunning because it has some really great shinny settings and some dark, macabre settings. Nice job.

"Deep In The Woods" starts slow but then gains strenght and ends pretty good. This is not a typical Slasher because there is more plot and character development than you expect. There are some creepy scenes and that's enough for making a good Horror movie. Give it a try, it's not a French Slasher that rips-off American Slashers.

If you like German Horror Porn then this movie is for you!

[kendel_17 · 3/10 · 20 October 2003]

The movie itself was very confusing... even after viewing the entire thing I nor anybody else understood. In addition the first 30-45 mins of the movie were taken up mostly by sex scenes, one which looked like it might turn into an orgy and another between two girls. All in all it was not a bad movie, but it had a lot of holes in the story and too many sexual subplots.

more than you'd expect for a slasher, excellent foreign horror

[danviau · 9/10 · 19 July 2002]

Understanding that every one has their own opinion, I was shocked to find out that this movie only has a 4 point rating. Forget the rating and give it a chance. The movie is photographed extremely well. You rarely see this, especially in horror movies. I like to say it reminds me of Raimi. Along with the visuals, the story will keep you guessing. The last horror to do that for me was SCREAM. This is the non-literal adaption of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD and is poorly marketed as an English teen slasher. I expected to laugh at this rental, as I love to do with every other B-movie. This is more. Simply, a great horror movie. Oddly enough, I am usually the one jumping in horrors and not my girlfriend, suprisingly we both were this time. Cough, but I did it in a manly way. ;) Regardless of the majority rating, take in consideration those who liked it. This movie is worth it if you like the genre. Oh, and watch it with sub-titles. Normally, I would say it wouldn't matter THAT much; however, like MONONOKE it is much better with it's original performances. I hope you give it a chance and enjoy the photography, suspense, and playfully amusing (read: gory) deaths.

Striking French Slasher

[annablair-19191 · 7/10 · 30 June 2019]

By 2000, the post-Scream slasher wave was already pretty much over, but they didn't tell that to the French, because Deep in the Woods was shot and released right at the tail end of this wave and ended up going straight to video and DVD here in the states. It's a shame, too, because this is easily one of the most visually striking horror films of its time.

A group of young actors are summoned to a mansion in the middle of the woods to entertain a child. In classic slasher fashion, they end up getting picked off one by one in a variety of elaborate ways.

What Deep in the Woods lacks in plot, character development, and story logic, it makes up for in sheer style. It looks and feels less like a typical slasher and more like an Italian giallo from Mario Bava or Dario Argento. This keeps the film interesting when the story wanes here and there and not much is going on. It's not the most memorable screenplay in the world, but some of the stylized set pieces do stick with you.

Fancy that -- the French make crap, too....

[BillyBC · 10 March 2003]

(*1/2 out of *****) This goes to show that even the French put out some serious garbage in the world of film from time to time. This one, for example, is horrid. The interesting (albeit derivative) premise, the spooky setting, and the cinematography are all quite good, but, unfortunately, the whole thing falls apart real fast under its own incomprehensible pretensions.

A group of attractive, young actors travel to an old mansion way out in the country to perform for an eccentric millionaire and his weird, mute son. The woods surrounding the mansion just happen to be the hunting ground for a serial rapist/killer who targets young girls. But, forget all about that, because, as soon as the good-looking group gets to the old guy's house, odd characters start popping up and bizarre things start happening -- you know, the usual David Lynch/Dario Argento kind of stuff -- except Delphlanque doesn't have an ounce of the artistic mastery or the subtlety to pull any of it off. Character motivations, most of the plotting, the dialogue (some of which, granted, could be the fault of American dubbing) -- is some of the worst I've ever encountered in a movie like this. In one scene, for example, everyone is sound asleep except for the main female star (Clotilde Courau), who is wandering through the mansion by herself. So, she enters one room and suddenly finds all of her friends dancing real slow and suggestively with each other, including her girlfriend. The scene ends and everyone acts regularly, as if nothing happened -- suddenly, they're all just wide awake and dancing to loud music! Okay, whatever, sure! And then, in the next scene -- after being warned by a (typically weird) police detective (who just happens to walk into the room) that a killer is on the loose -- they're all suddenly outside and walking around through the woods after midnight!

The story tries to follow the trace of a murder mystery, but it takes way too many irritating turns into contrived Lynchian territory (in an early scene, the young boy stabs his own hand with a fork at the dinner table, and, after the father explains that he always does that, the guests are like, `Hm, well, how 'bout that -- so, when do you think we're gonna get paid?' and stuff like that.)

There are some gory murders and a couple steamy sex scenes, but there are also loooong scenes of characters walking up and down stairs and through dark rooms. And, I swear to God, everyone pauses for about 30 seconds before responding to each other in this maddening mess -- I guess that helps stretch what could have been a 45-minute movie into an hour and a half.

Do not be fooled by anyone who tries telling you that this movie is as good as (or, God forbid, better than) a typical Argento flick, because it is not. In spite of its professional camera work and some hints of creativity here and there in the direction, this turkey is no better than any early-'80s, American slasher flick.

Lowlight: In a painfully forced attempt to misdirect our suspicions as to who the killer is, one of the actors tries to shoot Courau with a nail gun, but she somehow easily blocks it with a pipe or something, and, in the very next scene, the two of them are outside together, trying to start the car as if nothing happened. There are so many idiotic scenes like this that it just made me sick. I admit it -- I took the damn cassette out of the VCR! I didn't care how it ended! I couldn't take it anymore!