![]() ![]() The brash and loudmouthed Chelsea has coaxed her shy, virginal cousin Fernanda (Jeanette Samano) into joining for the weekend, in the hopes she might loosen up and have a little fun. The friends are planning to celebrate the birthday of Chelsea (Chelsea Rendon). Grandma doesn’t like him leaving the house, especially on the anniversary of his parents’ death. Hilaire), he’s preparing to go on a getaway with a group of friends. Against the wishes of his overprotective grandmother (Soledad St. There’s Jesse (José Julián), the socially awkward teen with a tragic but mysterious past. Time to meet our cast of stereotypical slasher staples, the pretty young people who we are not really supposed to care about - and can’t wait to see die in increasingly horrific ways. The car stops, and a man exits, dropping an axe to his side.Ĭut to the title screen followed by a caption letting us know it’s the next morning. Suddenly, he has a brief flashback to an earlier time, standing front of the same house, looking up at a young boy staring out at him from an upstairs window.Īs he tries to tend to his injured leg, a bloodstained car flips on its high beams and emerges out of the woods, chasing the man into the house. He makes it to a home nestled just outside the woods and collapses on the ground. As he runs for his life, his fear is amplified by the heart-pounding score, which matches the rhythm of his labored breathing and the crunch of leaves beneath his feet. ![]() A man is running through the woods away from an unseen assailant. With that said, at no point was it ever boring.įrom the opening scene, I was immediately drawn in. The result is a fun romp in the woods, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking or thought provoking.Īt several points, the plot was silly and borderline incomprehensible. Ultimately, however, this is a loving homage to the slasher sub-genre that gleefully embraces all the well-tread tropes of the genre. The filmmakers admirably try to do some things differently here - specifically with their commitment to representation both in front of and behind the camera. But the real question is, does it work?Īs is often the case, so much of your enjoyment of Murder in the Woods will hinge on your expectations going in. “ We purposely showed authentic moments, such as the altars to honor our ancestors, and blessings when we leave the house, memorable experiences that we share with our families.” The intent is certainly commendable. “ For us, it’s important for this story to be universal, but being Mexican-American, it was also important for the script to include cultural Latino references such as El Dia de los Muertos, The Chupacabras, and other stories that are recognizable,” says writer and producer Yelyna De León. “ This is why, while developing this indie feature, we were very conscious of making sure that there would be a diverse cast in lead roles.” “ I realized that this type of film had never been done in English for a mainstream audience, where Latinos and people of color are the leads and they are not portrayed in stereotypical ways,” says Director Luis Iga Garza. I really loved what the filmmakers had to say about the concept for the film: Throw in the promise of genre icon Danny Trejo, even if only for a cameo, and I’m sold. Directed by Luis Iga Garza and written by Yelyna De Leon, the throwback to slasher classics would have sparked my interest even if it didn’t also happen to boast an entirely Latinx cast. I fell in love with the idea of Murder in the Woods well before I sat down to watch the film. A slasher love letter with a focus on diversity, “Murder in the Woods” doesn’t remotely reinvent the genre, but it is both entertaining and important. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |