‘She Came from the Woods’ is a Better, Smarter Version of ‘Friday the 13th’ [Review]
I went into She Came from the Woods wondering if there’s any appeal left in newly-minted summer camp slashers. We’ve seen the basic setup done to death. So many Friday the 13th clones have set out to recapture the magic of that seminal offering and failed. Accordingly, I had tempered expectations for She Came from the Woods. In spite of that, I came away pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
She Came from the Woods (which is based on the 2017 short film of the same name) recaptures the essence of Friday the 13th. And it does so while carving out its own path. And to be brutally honest, I enjoyed She Came from the Woods even more than the original Friday.
Now before you come at me, let me say that Friday the 13th is one of my favorite slasher movies. But it’s also ham-fisted in the way it introduces its killer. And the performances are good but not great. I love it. And there wouldn’t be a She Came from the Woods without Friday the 13th. So, my hat is off to the granddaddy of summer camp slashers in every possible way. But I think She Came from the Woods happens to be a case of ‘the student has become the master’.
With all that said, this is a flick that’s best enjoyed as blindly as possible. So, I will do my damnedest to be as vague as is practical from here on out.
She Came from the Woods takes place on the last day of the season at Camp Briarbrook. The staff (which includes multiple members of the McCalister family) is on hand after the departure of the campers, to close up the grounds for the season. But a distraction presents itself by way of local lore. According to legend, the spirit of the nurse Agatha haunts the woods surrounding the camp. So, while they are closing up shop, a handful of counselors set out to lure the late nurse back to the grounds. The attempt initially appears unsuccessful. But the camp employees eventually find themselves unexpectedly entwined in a series of visceral events that may or may not be related to the ritual in which they previously partook.
This is a flick that knows the template and takes great care to convince you that you’re in for more of the same, only to eventually execute a sneak maneuver and pull the rug out from underneath the audience.
This flick surprised me in the best possible ways. The conclusion of the first act features a surreal exchange that had me asking myself if what was happening onscreen was actually happening, or if it might be a cop-out dream sequence presenting itself. That’s how unexpectedly this particular ordeal presents itself. There’s a complete lack of buildup to the sequence in question and that really made it all the more engaging. So many cinematic offerings leave a trail of giant breadcrumbs for the viewer to follow. And then the inevitable moment where things turn violent feels about as subtle as a hurricane. But that’s not the case here.
My hat is off to cowriter and director Erik Bloomquist for taking a chance and going in a series of unexpected directions. He kept me second-guessing myself and I love that. I love being surprised. The unpredictable ways in which we’re given reason to second guess the identity of the antagonist really hit home for me. That was a particularly nice flourish.
In addition to being flat-out surprising, the film also succeeds by not exposition dumping all the lore on the audience at the onset, probably around a campfire. We’re given bits and pieces of information as we go. But the viewer is kept largely in the dark until all the information is absolutely needed. The fact that we don’t have all the pieces until the third act makes for a surprisingly suspenseful viewing experience. Keeping the viewer on a need-to-know basis the way this film does is a somewhat underused strategy in the slasher genre. But it’s put to remarkable effect here.
Also impressive is how well the flick walks the line between horror and comedy. So many horror comedies are really funny or really scary. But few check both boxes. She Came from the Woods is the rare horror comedy that succeeds at being as scary as it is funny.
To be clear, suspension of disbelief will be necessary to get the most bang for the buck out of this film. But tell me of a slasher that doesn’t require that as the price of admission? There aren’t a great deal. They’re out there, yes, but they aren’t a dime-a-dozen. As such, I have no complaints in that regard. I’m merely confirming this is no exception to that general rule.
My one and only real criticism of She Came from the Woods is that it doesn’t really recapture the ‘80s as effectively as I’d have liked. Most of that has to do with the dialogue. The characters are all decked out with haircuts and wardrobes reminiscent of the era. But the exchanges between them felt more akin to the way we talk today. If that small piece had been just a little more steeped in the era, it could have truly felt like a lost export of that time period. But that’s a very minor quibble with what I’m preemptively labeling as one of my favorite horror films of 2023.
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'She Came from the Woods'
Summary
‘She Came from the Woods’ pays tribute to and even improves upon ‘Friday the 13th’.
