Slasher in the Woods - Blu-Ray

Content: Jenn (Jen Dance) returns home after a three-week hospital stay. Although the girl is convinced that the treatment for her depression has been successful, her mother urges her not to settle down and rather spend time with her friends. And so Jenn allows herself to be talked into a camping weekend in Braiden Woods with her friend Michelle (Chelsey Garner), her boyfriend Mike (Shaun Paul Costello) and his buddies Danny (Matthew Nadu) and Jared (Chris Ready). On the way into the woods, the group is warned by an excited hillbilly that the crazy Hunter Isth (Brian Gallagher) is said to be up to his mischief here, who, after the accidental death of his daughter, is out to kill party-hungry young people. But Jenn and her friends don't give a damn about an old man's warning. They just want to have a weekend of fun. But they soon realize that they would have done well to believe the legend surrounding Hunter Isth... <x><BR</x>

With his second feature Slasher in the Woods, filmmaker Jason Christopher has staged an homage to the slasher films of the 1980s. Especially the initial situation (a group of young people spend a party weekend somewhere in the American nowhere) and the character drawing strongly adhere to the clichés of this genre. With the killer, on the other hand, Christopher brings a bit of a breath of fresh air, giving the perpetrator not only a comprehensible motive, but also a certain depth of character - making him the absolute opposite of his often masked counterparts from the 80s.

The film has its moments, but suffers from the fact that the low budget is just as obviously noticeable as the only marginally available talent of the actors and the extremely short shooting time (12 days), which made frequent repetition of individual takes impossible. The director had to take what he got here. And also the script, written by Christopher himself at the age of just 17, doesn't exactly bristle with intelligent dialogues and dramaturgical depth. The whole thing sometimes seems a bit amateurish, which only initially but still has a certain charm. What the film could still score with, however, would be its rather classically implemented slasher elements. But since the film has not been released in Germany by the FSK, it was immediately shortened to such an extent that there was a 16er release for the film itself. The 18er release for the disc gave it then only because of a trailer. The cuts are unfortunately very obvious. You notice as a viewer that something is missing here - and such a thing clouds the pleasure then but clearly.

And since Slasher in the Woods is not a milestone of the genre anyway and also uncut with quite a few weaknesses to fight, the cuts here have an even more negative impact on the entertainment value overall. So the whole thing is for a small independent production still average good horror goods, but at least in this shortened version has more weaknesses than strengths to show. For this, unfortunately, there is only one: Conditionally worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The mini-budget with which Jason Christopher has implemented his film, is quite noticeable in the technical aspects. While the picture is very clean, it doesn't have particularly punchy colors, nor does it have an exhilarating sharpness of detail. Contrasts seem a bit overblown here and there, and in the darker scenes you can make out some slight image trickle. The sound then doesn't spend any great sound miracles. The dialogues are mixed very centrally, ambient sounds or sound effects, which could build up a moody surround atmosphere, there are only rarely. This all fits quite well with the already somewhat trashy overall impression of the film, but from a purely technical point of view it is just enough for a satisfactory!

Extras: As a bonus, the disc only holds the trailer and more program tips from the provider.

Conclusion: Slasher in the Woods is a low budget homage to the horror B-movies of the 70s and 80s. Don't expect big surprises, quality acting, or polished dialogue. At least director Jason Christopher has tried to create a deep killer whose motives are clearly revealed. Still, the film never offers more than average slasher fare, whose entertainment value is further diminished by some cuts. For this, unfortunately, there is only one: Conditionally worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp