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madjacktorrance's rating
The late 1970s and early 1980s were a good time for exploitation films. The nascent home video boom allowed a whole slew of films, with titles like Don't Go Near The Park, Don't Look In The Basement, and Don't Go In The Woods
Alone escaped from the grindhouse and into the living room. In doing so, these films sparked a moral panic in the UK and scared and inspired a whole new audience. I was one of the generation inspired to look beyond the mainstream by these films, among others, and if Stay out of the Woods is anything to go by, so was Russ Diapper.
The film's title tells you pretty much everything you need to know. There are some woods, there is a good reason to stay out of them and there are a several kids who, at various points, fail to follow this advice. The results are exactly what you would expect, and this works well as this film is not trying to do anything other than meet your expectations and share a nostalgic look back at the films of three decades ago.
Stay out of the Woods certainly achieves what it sets out to do, with a mad axeman delivering a series of bloody murders. More than this, though, the film has a superb atmosphere that not only captures much of the feel of the films it is paying homage to, but is wonderfully spooky in its own right.
The look of the filmstock has been artificially degraded to give it more of a grindhouse feel. Far from feeling gimmicky, this approach works well and effectively evokes past scares as well as adding much to the air of menace that pervades the film. More significant than the look, though, is the sound design, which is excellent. The score is note perfect and does a superb job of underling and enhancing the often ominous atmosphere of the film.
There is much to like in this film and most of its elements are very well executed. Unfortunately, the film as a whole doesn't quite hang together as well as it could, and I think the main problem here is that Stay out of the Woods is a full length feature crammed into a forty minute running time. This has led to a little too much use of both voice-over narration and overly expositional dialogue. It also reduces the length of time available to develop some of the more minor characters so that, while the effects are suitably gory it is difficult to really care about the characters.
Stay out of the Woods is certainly well worth seeing, especially if you have ever enjoyed any of the exploitation films to which it pays homage. Russ Diapper has a powerful sense of atmosphere which he builds very effectively both visually and in terms of the audio. My only real gripe is that I'd have liked the film to have been about twice as long to allow a bit more time to be spent with some of the more minor characters. Such a film has the potential to be a genuinely unnerving experience.
The film's title tells you pretty much everything you need to know. There are some woods, there is a good reason to stay out of them and there are a several kids who, at various points, fail to follow this advice. The results are exactly what you would expect, and this works well as this film is not trying to do anything other than meet your expectations and share a nostalgic look back at the films of three decades ago.
Stay out of the Woods certainly achieves what it sets out to do, with a mad axeman delivering a series of bloody murders. More than this, though, the film has a superb atmosphere that not only captures much of the feel of the films it is paying homage to, but is wonderfully spooky in its own right.
The look of the filmstock has been artificially degraded to give it more of a grindhouse feel. Far from feeling gimmicky, this approach works well and effectively evokes past scares as well as adding much to the air of menace that pervades the film. More significant than the look, though, is the sound design, which is excellent. The score is note perfect and does a superb job of underling and enhancing the often ominous atmosphere of the film.
There is much to like in this film and most of its elements are very well executed. Unfortunately, the film as a whole doesn't quite hang together as well as it could, and I think the main problem here is that Stay out of the Woods is a full length feature crammed into a forty minute running time. This has led to a little too much use of both voice-over narration and overly expositional dialogue. It also reduces the length of time available to develop some of the more minor characters so that, while the effects are suitably gory it is difficult to really care about the characters.
Stay out of the Woods is certainly well worth seeing, especially if you have ever enjoyed any of the exploitation films to which it pays homage. Russ Diapper has a powerful sense of atmosphere which he builds very effectively both visually and in terms of the audio. My only real gripe is that I'd have liked the film to have been about twice as long to allow a bit more time to be spent with some of the more minor characters. Such a film has the potential to be a genuinely unnerving experience.
A year after his pregnant wife was brutally murdered, Chris (Russ Diaper) returns to the hotel that they both owned and ran. Not only is the hotel his home and his business, it is also where his wife's murder at the hands of a psychotic guest took place. It's not surprising, therefore, that Chris is less than certain that he wants to stay and it quickly becomes apparent that the main thing keeping him here is the encouragement bordering on pressure from his brother, Mark (Rami Hilmi), who is keen to see Chris start to rebuild his life.
Not right in the hotel, however, and Chris' initial discomfort at being back starts to give way to the feeling that someone or something else is also living in the building Spirits of the Fall takes a bit of time to get going, largely because of the very exposition heavy dialogue in the initial scenes. A fair chunk of time is spent early on explaining both the set-up and backstory and, given that the nature of the film is also heavily hinted at, much of this explanation feels both leaden and redundant.
That said, the acting is competent throughout and both of the leads do a good job of maintaining the believability of the two brothers at the centre of this film and the relationship between them. And it's this relationship that provides both the initial impetus of the film and the veracity for the characters' reactions.
Where the film really scores strongly, however, is with its atmosphere. The big old hotel (it certainly feels both big and old) in which the film is set is superbly oppressive and this is expertly enhanced both by the darkly ominous cinematography and the excellently chilling soundtrack. When all of this comes together and it does for most of the running time the film becomes a genuinely gripping experience that really does take on a life of its own.
Although the plot of Spirits of the Fall relies a little too heavily on convenient characters turning up to explain what is going on, this is a competently told ghost story. But to focus overly on the storyline would be to miss the point which is that this is a film that sets out to unnerve its audience and, when it lets rip with the sounds, the sights and the glimpses of things that shouldn't be there, it succeeds spectacularly.
Writer/director, Russ Diaper has a very strong visual sense and an excellent grasp of how to build a genuinely chilling atmosphere. On the strength of this film, he really is a talent to watch out for.
Not right in the hotel, however, and Chris' initial discomfort at being back starts to give way to the feeling that someone or something else is also living in the building Spirits of the Fall takes a bit of time to get going, largely because of the very exposition heavy dialogue in the initial scenes. A fair chunk of time is spent early on explaining both the set-up and backstory and, given that the nature of the film is also heavily hinted at, much of this explanation feels both leaden and redundant.
That said, the acting is competent throughout and both of the leads do a good job of maintaining the believability of the two brothers at the centre of this film and the relationship between them. And it's this relationship that provides both the initial impetus of the film and the veracity for the characters' reactions.
Where the film really scores strongly, however, is with its atmosphere. The big old hotel (it certainly feels both big and old) in which the film is set is superbly oppressive and this is expertly enhanced both by the darkly ominous cinematography and the excellently chilling soundtrack. When all of this comes together and it does for most of the running time the film becomes a genuinely gripping experience that really does take on a life of its own.
Although the plot of Spirits of the Fall relies a little too heavily on convenient characters turning up to explain what is going on, this is a competently told ghost story. But to focus overly on the storyline would be to miss the point which is that this is a film that sets out to unnerve its audience and, when it lets rip with the sounds, the sights and the glimpses of things that shouldn't be there, it succeeds spectacularly.
Writer/director, Russ Diaper has a very strong visual sense and an excellent grasp of how to build a genuinely chilling atmosphere. On the strength of this film, he really is a talent to watch out for.
Deadly Pursuit isn't half bad, it could be compared to maybe a cool TV series Like CSI Miami and Russ Diaper plays Mike who would be like the Horatio of the film. He is a laid back ass kicking cop who might look average but his skills are anything but. Mike was called in for a domestic dispute and instead ends up in a very tricky situation that requires him to haul ass out of there or suffer the consequences.
Could Mike's cop colleagues be double crossers with the Terrorists? Can they figure out who is on the inside until it's to late? Along with directing films, Russ Diaper also a stuntman, music composer, and actor. They included a CD of the group Porno Patrol music along with the DVD that will grip ya up if you like killer funky tunes so go ahead and check that out as well.
Could Mike's cop colleagues be double crossers with the Terrorists? Can they figure out who is on the inside until it's to late? Along with directing films, Russ Diaper also a stuntman, music composer, and actor. They included a CD of the group Porno Patrol music along with the DVD that will grip ya up if you like killer funky tunes so go ahead and check that out as well.