An original blend of science fiction and folk horror
The title of THE ASTRAL WOODS refers to a remote forest area where people are taken who decide to have a shadowy group help them commit the following insurance scam: disappear for 7 years, and then the insurance will pay out handsomely.
The movie follows a couple for whom the wife initially agrees with reluctance but then withdraws her agreement at the last moment to participate in the scam and is then essentially forced by her husband to go through with it. There are early hints that the group that helps them is not human.
I have seen several movies by director Isaac Rodriguez, including DEADWARE (2021), THE LAST RADIO CALL (2022), A TOWN FULL OF GHOSTS (2022) and MR. CREEP (2022), and I have to say, this is the most mature horror feature by this still young director so far. It is no longer the work of a horror movie maker but of a horror auteur.
All of those prior films were found footage horror films whereas WOODS is not, but that is not primarily what sets it apart, in my opinion. Rather, it is the originality.
In fact, I like found footage movies a lot, and while there are many crappy ones, the best examples can provide a vicarious experience that narrative features can barely match.
Each of the previous movies contained plenty of original elements but still leaned noticeably on prior landmark works: for example, MR. CREEP had echoes of Jason Voorheis/Michael Myers, and GHOSTS had echoes of THE SHINING (1980). But WOODS reveals creative originality at a different level. I hope this will continue with his future works.
The story is fresh, the production design is good, and Rodriguez self-assuredly uses unusual cinematic techniques to convey certain plot elements.
The movie also raises deep philosophical questions about life, death and time, which I liked, albeit it makes only perfunctory attempts to answer them.
The small cast acted well, and while many of the special effects were breathtaking, a couple CGI effects (an explosion and a headshot) looked incongruously amateurish.
Also, it may be of note that WOODS joins a spate of recent good horror movies with a strong black female lead, such as US (2019) and BARBARIAN (2022).
People who like horror movies that are different or cerebral are especially likely to enjoy this film.
Did ChatGPT Do This? Naw, That’d be Better.
There’s really no existing genre of bad this falls into easily, more a kaleidoscope of reasons it sucks-not the least of which being how much they use a literal kaleidoscope lens.
The plot is actually promising on its own, clever enough to have not been done before. Kind of like an Unsolved Mysteries episode meets The Twilight Zone. But enacted by community theater people.
The whole cast, like all four people, just don’t act well at all. I mean it’s baaad. And the effects bounce between 2000’s SciFi Channel Original to film school guy who found an app with filters he really liked; not ugly in themselves, but just a cluster of angles and hues they couldn’t decide on so they used them all.
Most of the bottom tier of my ratings hinge on a few key things, but man this one just runs the gambit.
