Fantasia Festival: Volume 2

by Ari

Lucky McKee’s The Woods is the first time the horror film has been seriously intriguing since May surprised audiences a few years ago.  May, of course, was McKee’s exceptional directorial debut, easily the best American horror film of the past several years.  I find myself less and less interested in the genre’s offerings these days, but McKee seems intent on bringing back a sense of atmospheric and compelling storytelling to what has largely become predictable, flashy, and shallow.  The Woods is a smart and well-crafted thriller more interested in developing actual ideas and characters rather than settling for the usual gratuitous violence (aka: boredom) that plagues so many of these horror movies today.

The tired formula of loud, sudden frights and extreme amounts of sadistic brutality is not only unappealing, but completely against the concept of what horror used to be.  Films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Shining were unsettling because of the nature of their stories, and how well those stories were realized through performance and imagery.  Horror movies with ideas are the ones that are remembered, because ideas are what shock and disturb.  Lucky McKee seems to be the only filmmaker working in the genre that seems to fully grasp this concept, and his intelligent artistry is what makes his movies such memorable experiences. The Woods doesn’t quite reach the excellence of his debut feature, but it’s still a smart and creepy thriller with some wonderful performances and elegant visuals.

Heather (Agnes Bruckner) is a relatively quiet, somewhat troubled young woman sent to an all-girls private school for discipline and enrichment by her controlling mother.  She’s more misunderstood by her father (Bruce Campbell) than detested, but has no say in the decision to leave her in the hands of Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson) and the faculty of this secluded boarding school.  Once she arrives, Heather immediately notices something peculiar and threatening about the staff, and how they discipline the students.  Everything seems unnaturally organized and controlled, as if by some eerie external force.  And that just happens to be the case.  The woods that surround the school are possessed by a horrifying power of witchcraft, and Heather is the key to completing a terrible fate for the students trapped under an evil spell.

Patricia Clarkson’s monotone dialect (she’s always so damn good) should be the first indication that not everything is as it seems, and the disturbing oddities continue to grow in number as the story gets stranger and stranger.  The more Heather discovers about the past of her teachers and the horrible events that transpired before she arrived, the more frightening the movie becomes.  McKee never rushes into violent situations, nor overwhelms you with exposition. The Woods is carefully plotted and well paced, a gradually intriguing tale of horror that knows exactly how and when to unnerve its audience.  McKee uses silence and subtlety just as well as violence, and it’s his refusal of plain, common technique that makes his direction so rewarding.  He is absolutely one of the most exciting new American filmmakers, and it surprises me that his work is struggling for theatrical release.

The Woods is easily superior to not only the many forgettable horror films since May, but to the majority of thrillers and mysteries as well.  This film works on all of those levels with the ease and command of a gifted filmmaker interested in bringing something fresh and cinematic to mature audiences. The Woods builds a genuine sense of fear and tension as Heather falls deeper and deeper into the hellacious nightmare her captors have created.  For only a twelve million dollar budget, McKee gets some particularly sharp visual effects and production values from his crew.  When things go completely out of control with the trees and branches attacking the students (it looks much better than it may sound) the visuals show off their great detail.  Some of these sequences are terrifying in exactly the way most exhausted horror films dream of becoming.  When a filmmaker with a strong eye for visually inspired terror lets loose, the results can be quite effective.

Why something so accomplished is struggling for a respective release, while dozens of expensive and formulaic genre movies get wide, undeserving recognition is a sad element of the industry.  Movies with real artistic integrity should be released front and center, especially when they belong to a genre that isn’t usually perceived as artistically important.  Whenever a filmmaker does something surprising, or against the norm, it should be rightly acknowledged.  If The Woods ever does get an appropriate release, it will most likely be praised. It’s just bizarre that studio support for this film is low to non-existent.  It has the thrills.  It has the actors.  It has the visual effects.  A limited run at the very least would do fine.  Audiences know Bruce Campbell and Patricia Clarkson.  The lack of support is mystifying.

The real stars of The Woods are Agnes Bruckner and Lauren Birkell.  These young actresses do magnificent work, giving the story realism and heart that makes the entire ordeal that much more believable.  When a horror movie about witchcraft and terror successfully conveys honest emotion, you know the filmmakers and actors have done something right.

Another fine moment for the Fantasia Festival.