Review of Red Woods

Red Woods (2021)
3/10
Not good, not terrible. It is suspenseful.
4 August 2021
To be honest I hate found footage-type movies and I hate low budget when it's really obvious. This movie has a lot of flaws, primarily because the storyline and the storytelling are very convoluted, it's too long and has unnecessary characters. It's hard to keep track of all the characters: who is dying, who is doing what, who is missing, blah blah blah. The bottom line is that it's a poorly conceived and executed movie, but it does have some upsides.

That said, I sat through it and was hooked after about 15 minutes. I wanted to see what happens next. The setting in the woods was beautiful, and the creepy abandoned, falling-down houses in the middle of nowhere had there own appeal. Why are they there? Their presence alone raises interesting questions in a creepy movie. Yeah I wanted to see if there were dead bodies in the houses, that's the whole point of the movie. So for me, there was a decent amount of suspense.

Plus there was just enough character development to make me care about what happens and I wanted to see more. The acting wasn't great (but there are FAR worse movies out there). Some characters were relatable and/or authentic and others were unnecessary. Yes this aspect was uneven.

There isn't much saving grace in this movie but I have to give credit where it's due. The fact that it kept my interest when it had so many downsides (and I am not afraid to criticize bad films and give low scores), means they did something well. Rating a 3 seems about right to me.

If you can get through the first 20 minutes, which is the slowest, then give the rest of the movie a chance. If you don't have interest after 20 minutes, then don't waste any more time.
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