Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Extremely creepy, but somewhat unsatisfactory horror melodrama. The film has some marvelous special effects sequences, but the plot is not only confusing but far too way out to hold our full attention, despite excellent work by a hard-working cast led by Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson and Bruce Campbell.A lot of money was spent on the film too, but a large budget and good acting cannot go the full distance when the screenplay is both impossibly hazy and totally unbelievable.Admittedly, the movie starts well, but all the promise inherent in the early scenes is virtually lost when the screenplay decides to go all out on horror and elaborate special effects and never mind veresimilitude!.Available on an excellent UA DVD. (Take no notice of the exceptionally bad back cover, half of which is so messy, it is virtually impossible to read).

RELEASED IN 2006 and directed by Lucky McKee, "The Woods" chronicles events in 1965 New England when a troubled teen (Agnes Bruckner) is dropped off at a spooky remote boarding school for girls by her estranged parents (Bruce Campbell & Emma Campbell). Weird, witchy things ensue. Patricia Clarkson plays the dean while Lauren Birkell and Rachel Nichols play fellow students, one nice and the other mean. This is a mystery/horror flick that combines "Suspiria" (1977) with elements of "Carrie" (1976) and "The Ruins" (2008) or "Man-Thing" (2005) (yes, I realize "The Ruins" came out later; I'm just trying to give people an idea of what the movie's like). The haunting atmosphere and the Montreal location are very good, as well as the unsettling creepiness. So the plot is a winner, the film looks good and there's an effective darkness, if that's your thang. Unfortunately, the story is underwhelming. It's too ambiguous and feels incomplete, like a half hour of events were cut from the runtime. The hints of levitation and telekinetic abilities don't amount to much, nor do the leaves on a bed.The characters are either underdeveloped or unlikable, except for maybe the protagonist (Bruckner). All we know about Heather is that she recently set fire to something and there's enmity between her and her self-absorbed mother. The father is a pushover. We don't learn much about them or anyone else at the academy. Marcy provokes pity while Samantha is too over-the-top as the villain. You're more curious about WHY she's so mean than anything else. With all the young females available, the filmmakers drop the ball by not taking advantage of these resources (and I'm not tawkin' bout nudity or sleaze). The emotionless deliveries of the all-female faculty don't help, but I realize they were written that way to create a sense of oddness and it works. The witchcraft elements are decidedly subdued, which I liked; the focus is on the formidableness of the forest itself (hence the title). Speaking of which, the woods F/X in the last act are well done. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 31 minutes and was shot at McGill University, Montréal, Québec. WRITER: David Ross. GRADE: C

It was a really good film, it can be rough on some scenes. I absolutely like Agnes Bruckner playing as Heather Fasulo, she's an absolute badass! I hated in the scenes where she was bullied by the blond girl who just taunted her with horrible nicknames! Seriously the amount of abuse Heather got, was absolutely terrible! She didn't have a good life anyway since her crazy mother disowned her and made the father (Bruce Campbell) drive her up to that horrifying boarding school! It then really becomes awesome in the end, Bruce Campbell became the hero once again by killing the witches who badly needed to destroy Heather. As usual, the good always wins over evil! It was great also to see Patricia Clarkson as the witch, she is like the best underrated actresses out there. Who knew that her character would become from a guidance councellor to a witch all along? She definitely did well, well done to her!I really liked this good horror film, I give it a 8/10!

Recalcitrant and rebellious problem teen Heather Falsulo (an excellent performance by Agnes Bruckner) gets sent to an exclusive all-girls boarding school that's run by the imposing Ms. Traverse (a superbly understated portrayal by Patricia Clarkson) and located deep in the forest. Heather finds her life in considerable jeopardy after she discovers that the place is harboring a horrifying secret. Director Lucky McKee, working from an absorbing script by David Ross, relates the compelling story at a deliberate pace, offers a flavorsome evocation of the 1960's period setting, makes inspired unnerving use of the isolated sylvan setting, and does a masterful job of creating and sustaining a beautifully chilling and brooding sinister atmosphere. Moreover, McKee warrants extra plaudits for eschewing cheap scares and excessive graphic gore in favor of a supremely creepy mood that becomes more increasingly scary and unsettling as the narrative unfolds towards a harrowing conclusion. The exceptional acting from the top-rate cast helps a great deal: Bruckner and Clarkson both do sterling work in their parts, with stand-out support from Rachel Nichols as snarky bitch bully Samantha Wise, Lauren Birkell as the mousy Marcy Turner, Kathleen Mackey as the fragile and frightened Ann Wales, and, in a nice atypical straight dramatic role, Bruce Campbell as Heather's father Joe. John R. Leonetti's sumptuous widescreen cinematography gives the picture an impressive polished look. John Frizzell's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. A real sleeper.