Rent The Village in the Woods (2019)

Harbour - The Village in the Woods review by NP

This is a foggy slice of low-budget folk horror in the mould of The Wicker Man. The cinematography is excellent, the choice of locations inspired and the acting helps convey a growing sense of foreboding.

For a slow-moving story, what hurts this production is inconsistent pacing. Much time is taken up with immersing the viewer in the heavy atmosphere, and yet some key moments and plot points are given short shrift. The ongoing business of the ring worn by Rebecca (Beth Park) for example, is given scant explanation, and the figure in the window that bookends the story looks very unsettling, but again isn’t given any reason to be there.

It isn’t always necessary to tie up all the loose ends in a tale such as this – often the continuing mystery fuels the chills, but the lack of reasoning behind certain events prevents the growing horrors from being as effective as they otherwise could be.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this. Rebecca and her partner Jason (Robert Vernon) are good company, and we have every reason to side with them as things get progressively worrying. As the villagers, Richard Hope as Charles and Therese Bradley as Maddy are especially good. Unfortunate CGI effects notwithstanding, I enjoyed this despite the inconsistencies. My score is 7 out of 10.

No subtitles - The Village in the Woods review by SL

I have hearing loss so as this film has no subtitles, those of us who need them to enjoy a film, cannot watch this one, unfortunately.