Before director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell would team together for their Evil Dead films (thus generating a strong cult following for this series of "funny" zombie films), they wanted to create a mini movie using a Super 8mm camera to demonstrate their artistic vision. This film was shown in theaters only once due to copyright issues and was also shown to potential investors. It must have worked because only a short time later they had enough to make the low-budget classic, THE EVIL DEAD--a film that went on to make millions and led to sequels, of sorts, such as EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS (and even an off-Broadway musical). This review is for that cheapie short, WITHIN THE WOODS.
So what's the film like? Well, it's cheap, crappy but also amazingly scary for film with minimal production values, an annoyingly dark and fuzzy print and a cast with no training or skill. The problem is that YES it is scary and well-made in some ways, but unlike the EVIL DEAD films which bear a strong similarity to this film, it lacks the sense of humor that made the Evil Dead franchise work so well. An amazing film in many ways, but probably only of interest to HUGE fans of the genre.
So what's the film like? Well, it's cheap, crappy but also amazingly scary for film with minimal production values, an annoyingly dark and fuzzy print and a cast with no training or skill. The problem is that YES it is scary and well-made in some ways, but unlike the EVIL DEAD films which bear a strong similarity to this film, it lacks the sense of humor that made the Evil Dead franchise work so well. An amazing film in many ways, but probably only of interest to HUGE fans of the genre.