Even since I saw MAY – thanks for the tip Arrow! – I’ve been eagerly awaiting Lucky McKee’s follow up, THE WOODS. This despite some pretty negative reports on early test screenings of the flick. Why? Because MAY was unlike any other genre flick I’d seen before, and while it did have its weaknesses, it was still one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve had cinematically in quite some time.
There’s not a lot of info out there about THE WOODS, but here’s a bit from LYTRules.com on the off kilter happenings:
Where MAY was an allegory for the difficulty of finding love, THE WOODS is an allegory for adolescence. Heather Fasulo (Agnes Bruckner) is no shrinking violet or cracked psyche; she’s a cocky wanna-be “bad girl” who always has a sarcastic quip at the ready. Yet her world is anything but stable: Mom (Emma Campbell, who’s no relation to Bruce) is a shrewish social climber who seems to want nothing to do with the task of child raising, and Dad (Bruce Campbell) is an ineffective weakling. To top it all off, Heather constantly hears voices, and apparently has a penchant for setting fires. So she’s unloaded to boarding school, at a place called Falburn Academy, in the middle of the woods. Here, Heather is going to realize very explicitly that she is not in control of anything, and only after she’s been broken down will she realize that her apparent weaknesses are actually her biggest strengths. I think every creative type person can relate to that theme; how many of us were tormented or isolated in high school and college for the very things that now propel us upward? I guess none of us had to reckon with evil spirits, though we may have thought we did.
The write up on the flick is full of interesting info on changes that have tightened up some of the problems from earlier test screenings – including fixing the ending, getting the effects finished, and just what fans should expect from the presence of Mr. Bruce Campbell.
I’m definitely still firmly in the camp of can’t wait to see it. Now go judge for yourself.
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