"Don't Go in the Woods" rates highly as one of the single most deliciously dreadful slasher movies made back in the early 1980's, so it's pretty amazing the sheer volume of cast and crew members that writer/director James Bryan managed to round up for this 56-minute retrospective documentary. Actor James P. Hayden relates choice anecdotes about buying some kids tickets to see the film in the theater and being mistaken for another deceased actor with the same name, composer H. Kingsley Thurber admits that he recorded the goofy ending credits theme song simply as a joke, screenwriter Garth Eliassen admits that his original script had way too much dialogue in it, production designer Suzette Gomez came up with the maniac's beads, actor/cinematographer Hank Zinman recalls with good humor his bit role as an ill-fated fisherman, actor Gerry Klein tells a funny story about how he cracked up while watching himself play the hapless cripple when he saw the picture in the theater, and actor Frank Millen elicits the biggest laughs as he jokes about selling the killer's jingle stick for mad money on the internet. Moreover, we also learn that "Don't Go in the Woods" was banned in the United Kingdom as a video nasty and that Bryan set out to make an intentionally bad movie loaded with offbeat dark humor. Although cheaply shot on video, this doc is nonetheless worth a watch for fans of the film.
2 Reviews
Where Are They Now?
Michael_Elliott10 April 2015
Don't Go in the Woods: Cast & Crew (2006)
*** (out of 4)
In 2006 James Bryan, the director of DON'T GO IN THE WOODS, decided for the new DVD release of the film to gather up the cast and crew to see what they've been up to in the past couple decades as well as to find out if the movie ever ended up embarrassing them. As with the original film, the actual "quality" of this is pretty poor as it's shot on a very low-quality camera but this here actually adds to the charm. What's so amazing is that the majority of the cast members were willing to be interviewed and we also get some of the crew members like the cinematographer, the screenwriter and the man behind the music score. When you see movies like DON'T GO IN THE WOODS you sometimes wonder whatever happened to the people and this documentary gives you a pretty good idea. Plus, seeing how many people Bryan was able to gather up, you have to wonder why more special features don't have more cast members. Overall this is going to be a real gem for fans of the film as the actors who played the bigger roles in the film are interviewed here. Plus, there's a running joke about a certain crew member who doesn't want to be associated with the film.
*** (out of 4)
In 2006 James Bryan, the director of DON'T GO IN THE WOODS, decided for the new DVD release of the film to gather up the cast and crew to see what they've been up to in the past couple decades as well as to find out if the movie ever ended up embarrassing them. As with the original film, the actual "quality" of this is pretty poor as it's shot on a very low-quality camera but this here actually adds to the charm. What's so amazing is that the majority of the cast members were willing to be interviewed and we also get some of the crew members like the cinematographer, the screenwriter and the man behind the music score. When you see movies like DON'T GO IN THE WOODS you sometimes wonder whatever happened to the people and this documentary gives you a pretty good idea. Plus, seeing how many people Bryan was able to gather up, you have to wonder why more special features don't have more cast members. Overall this is going to be a real gem for fans of the film as the actors who played the bigger roles in the film are interviewed here. Plus, there's a running joke about a certain crew member who doesn't want to be associated with the film.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews