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Cast: Juliet Reeves (Automaton Transfusion, Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!), Charisma Carpenter ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", The Expendables), Jeremy London (Mallrats, "Party of Five"), Lee Perkins (Foxcatcher, KatieBird), John Still (Hustle and Flow, Live Animals) and introduces Shaun Elizabeth as "Little Grace."
The death of her fiancé (London) leaves Grace (Reeves) abandoned in a harsh mountain wilderness. Struggling against the elements and fighting off starvation, the fragile shell of her sanity begins to crack. Her situation worsens when she notices a dark figure stalking her every step. Through memories of her mother (Carpenter) and father (Perkins), Grace finds a long-forgotten truth about herself. It is this secret, long hidden away, that will either lead her to safety or down a path of horror beyond anything she could comprehend. "Girl in Woods" tells the story of Grace who goes on a hiking trip with her fiancé. You can tell that Grace has some mental issues right from the start with her strange nightmares and hallucinations. After arriving at their cabin the two decide to take a hike through the woods but after asking her fiancé if they will be back by 5pm she decides to leave her meds behind but that proves to be a bad decision after her fiancé accidentally kills himself with his rifle.
Grace now alone in the woods and lost because she has no idea where the cabin is, it isn't long before her fragile mind begins to play tricks on her and she starts seeing things such as her now dead fiancé, a shadowy creature that seems to be following her, a pair of her own personalities each trying to lead her now a very different path and her dead grandfather. Grace had a terrible childhood and what happened then affects her today but now without her medicine she is slowly losing all sense of reality.
Writer/Director, Jeremy Benson puts us the audience inside the head of this troubled young lady, the tricks her mind plays on her also plays on all of us as well which makes the film a dark and disturbing journey. The story gives us bits and pieces of what happened to Grace when she was just a little girl but the big reveal doesn't come until the end of the movie which keeps us drenched in mystery as we sit waiting and wanting to know more about what happened to Grace to make her so unstable.
The film provides lots of mystery and suspense as it moves along and the many different characters created by Grace keep us on the edge and disturbed at the same time. The film is cleverly written and the direction is masterful but what I found even more impressive was the acting by Juliet Reeves who really delivers an amazing performance as Grace times three. You really feel for this young woman but at the same time she makes you very afraid of her as well. The rest of the cast which includes, Charisma Carpenter as her mom, Jeremy London as her fiancé Jim, Lee Perkins as her dad and John Still as her grandfather all give top notch performances as well.
"Girl in Woods" is a very simple title but the movie itself is anything but that, Writer/Director, Jeremy Benson takes the basic survival story and flips it on its head. Adding the idea that the girl lost in the woods has mental issues and is without her medicine is clever yet frightening and he pulls it off beautifully. I can sit here and write about the story forever but this is one of those thrillers that needs to be seen to fully appreciate it. But I will say that it kept me totally engaged the entire time and at the edge of my seat for most of the film, it had a great pace to it and I thought the ending and the final reveal was absolutely brilliant. If you are a fan of horror/thrillers then I highly recommend checking this one out as soon as you can.
"Girl in Woods" will be available to rent or own starting June 3rd on Comcast, DirecTV, iTunes, Dish, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu and more so do yourself a favor and join in the madness. It will haunt your dreams long after it is over.
Released by Candy Factory Films
**** Out Of *****