You see, horror movies suffer under the weight of certain cliches. We all know them: "don't do drugs," "don't have sex," "don't play paint ball in the woods with a bunch of inbred rednecks."
It is this last one that comes to us in the form of BACKWOODS a straight to DVD horror film about a clan of rednecks that kidnap women and force them to become the mothers of the next generation, the lord's handmaidens as they're called. The men are met with arrows in the head.
For the longest time, rednecks have scared horror audiences. The idea of people who, through isolation, lose a certain sense of humanity is a common theme most famously explored in films like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. The problem with BACKWOODS is, its an attempt to carbon copy that film with out the same affect, right down to a deranged family with a cop/patriarch.
The film isn't bad. It's pretty well acted, featuring Hillary Duffs older sister Haylie and a crazy matriarch give excellent performances. There is a nice use of imagery and the tension in the movie is real. The tone is dark and they aren't trying to wink at you through he movie. It's well done and well put together if not a little...soulless.
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