Phantom of the Woods (2013) User Reviews

High IMDb rating, low number of votes probably equals ...

[Larry-115 · 3/10 · 6 September 2015]

... kick-starter supporters and production members (and their moms) inflating the rating.

This is strictly an amateur production, folks. The cinematography is good but the movie is dull and not very frightening, which is a problem for a horror movie. Delaney Hadley is a pretty and capable lead actress but most of the other acting doesn't measure up and several performances are simply terrible.

The modest effects overreach and just make the film feel even more like a high school project.

Kudos to the people making the film for seeing the kick-starter through, but when judged compared to professional films it really doesn't measure up.

We're all going to die.

[nogodnomasters · 1/10 · 26 February 2018]

Lana (Delaney Hathaway) and Jake (J.R.S. Storch) are socially dysfunctional so they make a great movie couple except they never saw "Silver Linings Playbook" and their relationship remains as boring as possible. They both have recently moved near the haunted woods where normally George (Richard Hackel) just lives, but now their are suddenly families. The woods contain guilt from a past event and a scarecrow with an ugly face that moves around a bit and may or may not have something to do with people going crazy and killing someone. George explains (Plot Spoiler?) that the woods causes people to face their worse fears who then act accordingly. The film was so poorly done it was hard to find any entertainment value, other than that Delaney Hathaway acting was so bad it was funny. The dialogue also lacked entertainment value, and it was hard to imagine anyone being able to look good reciting those lines. You would be better off watching a U-Tube video.

Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

Ugly shot-on-video horror

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 23 March 2017]

More shot-on-video junk would-be horror, this time hailing from Indiana. The protagonists of the film are a couple of teenagers who find themselves menaced when strange events begin to plague their small town. It's another film all about suggestion rather than fact, generally devoid of intent and interest, completely failing to make the rural setting in any way atmospheric.

The worst thing about this film isn't the bad acting but rather the camera-work; this is one of the ugliest films I've seen in a while with constant close-up filming so that the faces of the actors fill the screen all the time. I found it near unwatchable, with the constant poor production values and acting combined with the lack of incident making it a real test of the patience.

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the woods

[MikeThePikeFilms · 7/10 · 2 July 2013]

Solid flagship effort from Director, Michael Storch. A haunting, if not driving ambient score serves as the backbone of a film that starts out as what many may think to be just another slasher movie; but as the film unfolds, it's refreshing to find a solid backstory supporting the events at hand. It's evident that the budget constrained producers in terms of available talent pool for cast, but there are a few players that are simply outstanding, taking otherwise familiar moments and making them unique and memorable. Overall, this is an ambitious but effective film that shows us that micro-budget does not have to be limited to schlock. Definitely worth a watch!